The Hong Kong government will launch a voluntary certification authority (CA) recognition scheme next month as one of the measures to promote and facilitate the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong, a senior official said on January 29.

The introduction of the scheme is to enhance public confidence in electronic transactions and protect consumer interest, Director of Information Technology Services Lau Kam-hung, said at a luncheon.

"The government policy on CAs is to offer maximum assistance in facilitating their smooth operation and to minimize the unnecessary regulations or requirements," he said, adding that the planned implementation of a voluntary recognition scheme is to make sure that CAs can apply for government recognition on a voluntary basis.

CAs are responsible for the issuance, renewal and revocation of digital certificates which are electronic documents certifying the identity of legal entities participating in electronic transactions and recording their public key information. They serve as trusted third parties to ensure trust and security in electronic transactions.

With the digital certificates issued by CAs and the use of digital signatures, participants in electronic transactions will be able to authenticate the identity of the parties involved in electronic transactions, ensure the integrity of the messages exchanged and make sure that the transactions cannot be repudiated.

To encourage the private sector to provide CA services, the government does not impose any mandatory licensing requirement for the sector to set up its CAs.

On January 14, the Code of Practice for Recognized Certification Authorities was issued to specify the standards and procedures for recognized CAs to carry out their functions.