Michael Chung, director of product development, marketing and sales at Hong Kong Post (HK Post), said the department cannot keep pace with e-Cert operating expenses and outsourcing would help reduce the government's financial burden.

Chung said the operating loss totaled HK$15 million for e-Cert services during the 2004-5 financial year. Total investment within the five years of operation was HK$208 million with a cumulative loss of HK$$89.4 million, he said.

"We have decided to explore the feasibility of having the private sector operating the e-Cert services and the possible synergy that can be unleashed," said Betty Fung, the deputy government chief information officer.

Launched in January 2000, e-Cert aims to secure online transactions using the public key infrastructure (PKI) technology. However, since the launch, the service has not generated significant endorsement from the public.

As of mid-November 2005, Chung said HK Post had issued 1.47 million e-Certs, with 1.2 million e-Certs embedded in Hong Kong's smart ID cards free of charge. According to a recent online survey by Computerworld Hong Kong, 60 percent of 119 respondents said they've never used their e-Cert embedded in their smart ID card, while 24 percent said they do not have an e-Cert.