"Now we will still need at least three months to open a new branch, but the effort no longer spent on building the infrastructure or connections," he said. "We can now spend our resources on developing localized product and marketing campaign, which are essential for retailers."

Another major barrier is that businesses can only obtain an operating license after the government reviews and approves its accounting system to ensure their reports comply with its requirements. Choosing the right IT service providers and SIs thus become very helpful, said Lam, adding that his company hired PCCW Solutions to support Angel Tong Holdings' Hong Kong and overseas expansions.

"When the SIs are supporting software that is pre-approved by government officials through their previous projects, it save us lots of effort to source and configure the software to match with regulatory requirements," he said.

Fok said the easiest way to deal with this regulatory limitation is to re-configure internationally recognized software to fit local needs. Since these applications are designed around well-established business processes, re-configuring the software makes standardization easier while simultaneously meeting local needs, he added.

Work-around