In the last week, Hongkong Telecom (HKT) forged two partnerships to solidify its image as a vehicle for e-commerce.
On Thursday, HKT formed a joint venture with Australian infosecurity firm Secure Network Solutions Ltd (SNS) in order to utilize SNS’s technology and expertise to provide secure e-commerce solutions.
On Monday, the telecom’s ISP unit, Hongkong Telecom Interactive Multimedia Services (HKTIMS), partnered with Hong Kong’s Trade Development Council (TDC) to gain access to the powerful non-profit’s membership.
The SNS-HKT joint venture will be 60 percent owned by Hongkong Telecom and 40 percent by SNS and will start operations on July 1st.
Using Internet security products and technology, the new venture will concentrate on delivering secure e-commerce solutions to customers in Hong Kong.
“Developing a premier e-commerce capability is part of Hongkong Telecom’s eVISION mission,” said HKT’s Chief Executive Linus Cheung. “This mission is in line with the SAR government’s determination — which we strongly endorse — to make Hong Kong the leading Internet hub and the leading e-commerce center in Asia.”
The partnership between TDC and HKT will work towards providing e-commerce solutions to the associations member companies, mostly SMEs. At the start, the two organizations indicate that the joint e-commerce offering will be taken up by 5,000 member firms and will reach 10,000 SMEs next year.
Allen Ma, CEO of HKTIMS, said that the his company’s partnership with TDC was an important facet of the telecom’s campaign to provide e-commerce services and to make Hong Kong an Internet hub in Asia.
Recently, HKT’s British parent company, Cable & Wireless, indicated that it would re-brand the telecom to more reflect C&W’s global brand.