Does CEPA matter?

31.10.2005
It has been almost a year since the Hong Kong SAR Government announced its first Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) initiative for the IT industry. Aiming to lower the entry barrier for local SIs to enter China, the Computer Information System Integration Qualification (CISIQ), which allows SIs to be certified and bid for government projects, was bought to Hong Kong last December.

At a media conference eleven months ago, senior officials from China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII), the office of government CIO (OGCIO) and Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) jointly introduced the CISIQ, with a few relaxations in requirements, to local SIs.

"Since many SIs are keen to bid for deals in China, but lack recognition within the market, the certification is expected to bring them an 'entry ticket' to the market," said Betty Fung, deputy GCIO at the conference.

After the champagne-toasting, hand-shaking and photo opportunities, what's the response from the local industry? How has CISIQ been helping local SIs to enter China? The answers do not sound very encouraging.

Currently, only six SIs are processing the application for CISIA through HKPC, according to Fritz Chiu, principal consultant, information technology industry development at HKPC. Among these six companies, only two have filed applications to MII. Applying for the Level-2 and Level-4 certification, the applicants expect to hear the results from MII by November, almost a year after CISIQ was first announced.

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