E-Commerce &
E-Business
One important aspect of ICT is its usage by business. An accurate measure of ICT diffusion at the country level is e-commerce. If a country has well developed ICT policies, there is a high probability that businesses operating in that country are IT intensive.
The latest available national statistics on e-commerce revenue are from a study published in 2002 by the IDA.
B2B E-commerce Revenue |
$81.5 billion |
B2C E-commerce Revenue |
$2.1 billion |
*Source: IDA E-Business [18]
B2B procurement was estimated to reach $25 billion in 2001. [19]
The IDA has implemented several policies to aid in the development of e-business in Singapore . The Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) and the Electronic Transactions (Certification Authority) Regulations were introduced in the late 1990s to facilitate e-commerce by recognizing electronic records and signatures. The most common payment form for e-commerce is the credit card. The TrustSG program provides endorsement for local e-businesses. It boosts consumer confidence in using credit cards for e-commerce transactions. The TrustSG mark certifies that a company adheres to high commercial standards and is a symbol of reliable e-business practices. An e-commerce site bearing the mark is one that promises to uphold data privacy and online security, and adhere to the approved code of conduct for doing business over the Internet. [20]
Certain industries are more IT intensive than others. According to a study by the University of California at Irvine , the retail/wholesale sectors in Singapore are the most ready for e-commerce, while the financial services sector appears to be the least open. Since the retail sector is a key domestic industry, e-commerce is a vital component of business strategy. It is used to aid distribution on the demand side and procurement on the supply side. For the financial services sector, the major reasons to use e-commerce are operational and cost efficiencies. The size of the company will play a major factor for e-commerce usage within this industry. The larger firms are more likely to use e-commerce while the smaller companies choose not to engage in sophisticated e-commerce activities.[21]
Though Singapore has a substantial amount of e-commerce, there are certain obstacles that restrict its growth. B2B e-commerce is likely to grow at a faster rate than B2C because of Singapore 's strong international trade and business. There are three main barriers that restrict companies from doing business over the Internet: privacy & security, cost of setting up an e-commerce site, and legal protection for Internet transactions.
The country's small domestic economy is a barrier for the development of new e-commerce technology at the consumer level. Singapore does not have a strong content publishing industry, which puts a constraint on e-commerce innovation for B2C applications.[22] Also, it should be noted that Singaporeans still distrust the Internet for e-commerce transactions. This cultural factor is also a barrier to growth of B2C e-business.[18] IDA Singapore: e-Business
[19] IDA Singapore: Survey on E-Commerce 2000