Asia Overtaking Europe E-Commerce.

Research indicates Asia Pacific region will overtake Europe and possibly USA in E-Commerce uptake in four years

A Professor from Sydney's University of Technology believes that within four years Australasia, Singapore and Korea will be seeing far more intensive e-commerce activity than Europe and, possibly, the USA as a direct result of the current aggressive exploitation of e-commerce throughout the region at all levels. Research includes India, announcing a target of US$50bn export software sales by 2008 and China, leap-frogging over PC's to launch straight in to mobile internet access. Prof Burdon believes that, when all research and trends are taken in to account, the implication is one of profound affects on Western economics in the near term. He will be presenting his findings, backed by data from IDC and Forrester Research, at this year's World E-Commerce Forum in London on 18th, 19th and 20th October.

Research shows that, by 2004, six of the top seven most intensive e-commerce countries in the world will be in Asia led by Singapore, now with high tech exports of US$65bn per annum. Many of these countries will not be encumbered by the inertia of long-established business practices and institutions, making them far more responsive to changes and developments in the global e-conomy. The quality of goods and services coming out of the Asia Pacific region is continuing to improve and develop, and the majority of the coming millennium's market potential and customers are living in that region. Prof Burdon will be asking what all this means for European and American corporations who want to build businesses in Asia or protect their home markets from the growing skills of Asian corporations, particularly as e-commerce facilitates globalisation and reduces barriers.