Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
generated 17,000 jobs, of which 80 % were knowledge-intensive. Part of this effort
includes the Multimedia University in Cyberjaya, owned by the privatized Tele-
kom Malaysia, which has established collaborative linkages with 37 companies
and 29 universities around the world. E-banking has been offered in Malaysia since
2000 and grown rapidly in popularity (Ainin et al.
2005
). B2B applications have
mushroomed in the tourism sector and among electronics firms there. Barriers to
use of the internet by Malaysian businesses include concerns over security, lack of
legal precedence of electronic contracts, fear of hackers, insufficient skilled per-
sonnel, and worries about intrusions into privacy (Abd-Mukti
2000
).
Similarly, Thailand focused on e-commerce as part of its IT-2000 plan (Gray
and Sanzogni
2004
), including government-backed loan interest loans for start-ups
and counselling and legal expertise (Sebora et al.
2009
). The Thai government also
initiated work on a new technology park in Chiang Mai to rival its counterpart in
Malaysia. In poorer countries such as Indonesia, e-commerce is yet in its infancy,
which partly reflects the monopoly position held by PT Telkom, which has
exclusive rights to domestic telephone calls. Thus, despite Indonesia's vast pop-
ulation, e-commerce there amounted to only $30 billion in 2009.
4.7.6 South Asia
India, currently undergoing explosive economic growth, has sought to overcome its
limited telecommunications infrastructure to facilitate e-commerce, partly at the
urging of the National Association of Software and Service Companies. Venture
capitalists such as Himalayan IT often sponsor e-commerce start-ups. In 2009,
India's e-commerce reached $39 billion in 2009, including international imports
and exports of computer software. Obviously a significant share of this was gen-
erated by the country's booming software industry (Patibandla and Petersen
2002
;
Athereye
2005
; Grondeau
2007
), now the world's largest, which is largely clustered
in the famed center of Bangalore and to a lesser extent in Pune and Hyderabad.
Indian e-banking is in its preliminary stages, but growing rapidly (Khan and
Mahapatra
2009
). Retail websites such as Bazaar India and IndiaMart have been
highly successful. India has several examples of successful e-commerce ventures
associated with rural development efforts. For example, in Madya Pradesh, the
community-owned and financially self-reliant Gyandoot project, begun in 2000,
provides farmers with access to the latest market quotes, while in Chennai the
Foundation of Occupational Development project uses wireless radio modems to
facilitate information exchange and networked solutions among nongovernmental
organizations (Wagner et al.
2003
). In Bangladesh, AgriNet performs a similar role.
Pakistan, the world's sixth most populous country, has minimal e-commerce.
Broadband began there rather late after being introduced by Telstar, an Australian
firm. With an internet penetration rate in 2011 of only 15.5 %, e-commerce is also
hobbled by the lack of security for online transactions (and resulting lack of trust)
and widespread corruption (Seyal et al.
2004
). Pakistani internet users tend to be
