Singapore minister upbeat on A-Pac for IT growth

Our eFE Bureau

New Delhi, Dec 9: The Asia-Pacific region will continue to house the fastest growing IT and telecom markets for many years to come, according to Singapore’s senior minister of state, ministry of information, communications and the arts, Mr Khaw Boon Wan.

Speaking at the Asia Oceanian Computing Industry Organisation (ASOCIO) general assembly session, he said the top 10 Internet markets in the world are in the Asia-Pacific region while China and Japan are among the top three largest markets in the world for mobile telephony.

He however warned that the full potential of the emerging convergence of voice, video and text would not be realised if “governments continue to maintain the traditional regulatory lines of division between the telecom, IT and broadcasting sectors.” Such an artificial demarcation is impeding the pace of innovation in the industry, he added.

He also reiterated the call for working towards one single Asian market for the infocom community.

“We would need to establish interconnectivity and technical interoperability among our telecom systems and equipment, we would need to free up trade in infocom products and services and harmonise e-commerce laws and regulations (to achieve this),” he said.

The free flow of IT workers across borders also needs to be facilitated, he added. On the economic front, he said that Singapore can be to India what Hong Kong is to China. “We can serve as a gateway into India as well as an outpost for Indian businessmen, scholars and scientists to explore South East Asia,” he said.