IT Industry Tops Shenzhen's Development AgendaShenzhen's resolve to speed up development of IT industry is illustrated by the city's recent decision to invest one billion yuan (120 million US dollars) and build a park for net companies.By the year of 2005, IT industry will become Shenzhen's most dynamic economic powerhouse and the city's IT industrial output value will exceed 200 billion yuan (24 billion US dollars), said an official with Shenzhen Information Construction Committee. Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, has witnessed a fast expansion in its IT industry. The city has 250,000 net subscribers, and the per-capita spending on information is more than 380 yuan a year. The official predicted that in next five years, more than 50 percent of the companies in the city will choose e-commerce as their major way of trading and approximately 30 percent of a company's total trade volume will be done online. There have been over 100 foreign trade firms that applied to electronic data interchange (EDI) since the country's first EDI customs clearance was put into operation in Shenzhen in 1997. And more than 80,000 local enterprises, or 50 percent of the tax- paying enterprises, are using EDI when reporting taxes to Shenzhen Local Taxation Bureau. According to the official, the city has been working on regulations regarding management of e-commerce. It will also set up a center to certify security in e-business, and to construct a city-wide comprehensive information exchange platform for e- commerce clients. Meanwhile, the development prospects for IT in Shenzhen city has drawn a huge sum of investment from overseas. For instance, overseas companies including the IDG of the United States participated in Shenzhen's drive to build a park for net companies, dubbed "Shenzhen Digital Harbor". |
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