Asia seen having appetite for Internet banking

["Joseph M. Reagle Jr." <reagle@rpcp.mit.edu>]

>	 NEW DELHI, Aug 21 (Reuter) - Asian nations are eager to make  
>use of the Internet in the field of banking and finance to meet 
>individual country's needs, a senior official of computer group 
>Hewlett-Packard Co said on Wednesday. 
>	 ``The response through the region is quite phenomenal,'' Jeff  
>Ayton, the region's director of marketing in the financial 
>services division of Hewlett-Packard, told Reuters in an 
>interview. 
>	 He said a Hewlett-Packard roadshow he held across the region  
>revealed a keen interest in the use of Internet in banking and 
>insurance. Internet experts say customers can use the network to 
>transact business and banks can improve communications and 
>customer service with its help. 
>	 ``I don't think any Asian country wants to be left behind,''  
>he said, but added that the exact level of sophistication in the 
>demand generated would depend on customer needs and 
>infrastructure facilities in each nation. 
>	 With even rural areas now linked via satellites, there is a  
>big potential for Internet-linked business in huge emerging 
>markets, he said. 
>	 ``Satellite technology is what will help in countries like  
>China and India,'' he said, referring to their own satellite 
>launch programmes. 
>	 Ayton said he had found interest in using the Internet in  
>banking in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, 
>Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea. 
>	 Hewlett-Packard officials say that countries like India  
>could leapfrog in computer networking technology because they 
>have not yet invested huge amounts in computer infrastructure. 
>	 Ayton said he was scheduled to meet Indian banking officials  
>next week to discuss Internet-related possibilities in the 
>field. 
>	 Kapi Attawar, a senior Hewlett-Packard official dealing with  
>emerging markets, said his company saw particular potential for 
>the ``Intranet''. The latter enables local networks within 
>companies to be linked to the worldwide information highway. 
>	 Many Indian companies already had local computing networks  
>using basic data transmission facilities which may be used to 
>hook on to Internet, Attawar said. 
>  	   	
>
>
_______________________
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Joseph  Reagle      http://rpcp.mit.edu/~reagle/home.html
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