Cable & Wireless HKT expects the growth of its Internet-related businesses to bolster the revenue contribution from its multimedia operation to 20 per cent of the total in five years from only about 2 per cent at present.
Speaking after the company's launch of its busi ness.netvigator.com Web site yesterday, HKT executive director Allen Ma Kam-sing said: 'Most people have under-estimated the growth of e-commerce.
'I believe 10 per cent to 20 per cent of Hong Kong's gross domestic product will come from e-commerce in two to three years' time.' Chief executive Linus Cheung Wing-lam said more than $20 billion had been invested in the past four years.
He said Hong Kong had now become a global leader in its broadband Internet infrastructure.
HKT's new Web site is targeted mainly at the SAR's small and medium-sized companies.
It features a search-engine database that allows purchasing agents and buyers to reach one million manufacturers around the world and browse their products on-line.
Users can also read business news and procure on-line services provided by HKT's partners, among them United Parcel Services and business information provider Dunn & Bradstreet.