For Immediate Release

Bank of East Asia Partners with
Hong Kong Productivity Council
Empowering SMEs in the e-Commerce Age

Hong Kong, 28th August, 2002 – The Bank of East Asia, Limited (“BEA”) and Hong Kong Productivity Council (“HKPC”) today signed a collaboration agreement to provide a one-stop e-Commerce solution for Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), ranging from website design, hosting to an online payment gateway service.

With a commitment to support the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government’s initiative to promote the use of information technology among SMEs, HKPC introduced a user-friendly web design service, WebEC, in November 2001. WebEC provides a wide range of Internet store-front services at very competitive rates, including domain registration, website design, web hosting, membership, e-marketing, web statistics, shopping cart, online form and search engine function.

Prompt and secure online credit card payments are crucial to the success of e-Commerce. Employing 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer, 1024-bit Public Key Cryptography and Java technology for data encryption, BEA’s payment gateway service ensures the transmission of credit card information in a highly secure environment. The service enables SMEs to obtain real-time credit card payment authorization for Hong Kong dollar and US dollar transactions. With the integration of WebEC and payment gateway service, SMEs can quickly and at low cost set up a complete and reliable e-Commerce platform to develop their business.

Dr. David K.P. Li, Chairman and Chief Executive of BEA, said, “BEA is proud to complement the HKPC package with a secure payment gateway service, providing Hong Kong SMEs a complete e-Commerce solution from a single-source vendor. Our partnership means that Hong Kong SMEs no longer have to worry about the technical details of launching an e-Commerce presence. They can concentrate on what they know and do best – building their own business. ”

Mr. Thomas Tang, Executive Director of HKPC, said, “With today’s collaboration agreement between HKPC and BEA, WebEC receives an extra high value-added service: a payment gateway that is incorporated in the members’ web pages. For companies engaging in B2B or B2C e-commerce, this gateway enables them to collect credit card payments through the Web, sparing users and potential clients the many tedious steps involved in most other forms of payment.”

In recognition of WebEC sponsoring organizations’ support of this partnership, BEA is offering its full-service payment gateway service at special concessionary rates to all member companies of the sponsoring organizations. Free seminars on WebEC and payment gateway service, jointly organized by HKPC and BEA, will be offered to all SMEs.

For further details about the program, please contact Mr. Vincent Hui, Head of e-Distribution Department of BEA at tel: 3407 2018 / e-mail: huiv@hkbea.com or Mr. Steve Lau, Acting Senior Consultant of HKPC at tel: 2788 6081 / e-mail: stevelau@hkpc.org.

For media enquiries, please contact:

The Bank of East Asia, Limited
Ms. Salina Tong
Head of Corporate Communications Department
Tel: 2842 3063
Email: tongsly@hkbea.com

Hong Kong Productivity Council
Ms. Betty Lee
General Manager
Corporate Communications & Events
Tel: 2788 5036
Email: emilyc@hkpc.org

About The Bank of East Asia, Limited

Established in 1918, The Bank of East Asia, Limited (BEA) is the largest local bank in Hong Kong with total assets of HK$180 billion as of 30th June, 2002. Over the years, BEA has gained an international reputation as a professionally managed and prudent financial institution that understands customer needs. BEA Group now operates a total of 115 branches in Hong Kong, 15 outlets in the Mainland China and maintains a strong presence in the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K., the British Virgin Islands and Southeast Asia.

BEA launched Cyberbanking in September 1999, which was the first comprehensive electronic banking service in Hong Kong. It enables customers to access their bank accounts through a variety of channels, including the Internet, TV, PDA, mobile phone, telephone, PowerPhone and transactional kiosk. Corporate Cyberbanking was launched in August 2001 to meet the specific needs of BEA’s corporate customers.

For details, please visit :
Cyberbanking website : http://www.hkbea-cyberbanking.com
Corporate Cyberbanking website : www.hkbea-cyberbanking.com/corporate

About Hong Kong Productivity Council

The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) is a multi-disciplinary organization established by statute in 1967 to promote productivity excellence through the provision of professional services. Through its Institute of Information and Media Industries (IIMI), Product Development and Innovation Institute (PDII) and Best Management Practices Institute (BMPI), HKPC provides integrated and streamlined services to trade, industry, and the community at large. These services aim to increase efficiency and competitiveness, thereby contributing to raising the standard of living for the people of Hong Kong. For more information, please visit the HKPC website at http://www.hkpc.org.

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