CARRIE YAU TSANG KA-LAI, the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, was visibly impressed. After showing the writer a slide of Indian IT giant Infosys Technologies' Bangalore headquarters, she paused and remarked: 'Nobody could tell this is India - this is like Silicon Valley!'
It is a comparison Ms Yau hopes will some day be made about Hong Kong as one of the IT centres of the world. To further this end, she recently embarked on a two-week tour of India, taking in all the software hotspots dotted around the vast nation.
Having previously visited Dublin, Helsinki and Silicon Valley as part of the year-long research study conducted by the IT Manpower Taskforce, Ms Yau believes that recommendations will not be long coming. There is not a moment to lose, she emphasises, as Hong Kong runs the risk of lagging behind the rest of the world, even as it examines how it will eventually produce 30,000 skilled IT workers.
'We have to look at how we are going to meet this shortage of skilled IT workers,' said Ms Yau.
In this respect, the trip to India was timely. After a gruelling succession of delayed flights and sleepless nights, Ms Yau visited the capital New Delhi and the two high-technology hubs of Bangalore and Hyderabad.
'It was a very rewarding and eye-opening experience, and a most useful update on the IT development of India,' said Ms Yu. 'India has become the major exporter of IT manpower because they have a very good foundation in education.'