LIKE George Soros and Eisuke Sakakibara, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates has the power to reshape the world around him, and because of this his every move is watched by an army of technology pundits.
Sharing the stage last week was Hongkong Telecom, with which Microsoft will work on a 90-day programme of development, building entertainment, information and business applications to be transmitted over Telecom's network to televisions or personal computers.
The deal is not exclusive, there is no guarantee that the co-operation will continue after the three months is up, and no details have been decided on how profits would be shared if the partnership were to become a more solid commercial deal.
But behind the posturing, there is growing interest in the market for multimedia services, delivered to Hong Kong households via TV or PC. The biggest competitor for Telecom's Interactive TV (iTV) service is Hong Kong Cable (previously known as Wharf Cable). Earlier this year, HK Cable recruited a team of executives from Star Telecom, which had won a video-on-demand (VOD) licence last year, but relinquished it when Star was taken over by Telecom. The Cable Multimedia Group is to develop new multimedia products for HK Cable.
Hutchison Telecom, which pulled out of the competition for VOD licences in 1997, has said it may consider bidding again. Its chance may come in the next few months, as the Government is preparing to begin another round of licensing mid-year, in response to proposals in last year's Television and Broadcasting Review.
Meanwhile, Pacific Century has formed a venture with Intel called Pacific Convergence, to develop multimedia services for Hong Kong.
