Two companies provide secure online network in Hong Kong
Journal of Commerce

November 24, 1999 - TradeCard Inc., a start-up company that is creating an electronic commerce business model for international trade, signed an agreement with Tradelink to begin a secure, online network in Hong Kong.Kurt E. Cavano, president and chief executive of TradeCard, said the system, which will begin operating in the first quarter of next year, will enable Hong Kong traders to receive payment guarantees from overseas buyers and expand the global reach of their business.

Tradelink, a joint venture between the Hong Kong government and 11 private sector shareholders, serves as the local "electronic gateway" for the Hong Kong trading community and has 41,000 customers.

The TradeCard services will be offered in Hong Kong through a partnership agreement signed last week. The Tradelink agreement is the first of several alliances planned by TradeCard in Asia.

"While the Internet is enabling millions of businesses worldwide to buy and sell in ways never before imagined, the tools and methods used to conduct trade have gone unchanged for several hundred years and do not fit into the new world of e-commerce," Cavano said.

TradeCard is "a new payment alternative for international trade, providing a solution that is easier to use than a letter of credit, more secure than open accounts, and available for one flat fee per transaction," Cavano said.

Tradelink Chief Executive Justin Yue Kwok-hung said, " TradeCard fits in perfectly with Tradelink's objectives to simplify trading procedures and help Hong Kong's traders enhance their efficiency and competitiveness."

More than 75 percent of Hong Kong's import and export declarations are now processed electronically, and all of them will be by next April, Yue said.

"Now that these companies have climbed the first rung of the e- commerce ladder, our next step is to help them to do e-business with their overseas trading partners more easily and cost-effectively," Yue said.

By working with TradeCard , he said, "we can offer local businesses a complete and secure cycle of electronic services, from purchasing to licensing and trade payments."

Beginning in the first quarter of 2000, Hong Kong businesses will be able to sign up through Tradelink to become TradeCard members and then begin trading with other TradeCard members around the globe.

Each purchase order carries a payment guarantee, meaning that the seller will automatically be paid if electronic compliance is met.