Asia-Pacific predicted to have 40m Internet users this year

Asia-Pacific predicted to have 40m Internet users this year

SINGAPORE (AFP): The Asia-Pacific region outside Japan is expected to have 40 million Internet users by year-end, with electronic commerce worth US$7.3 billion, according to research released on Tuesday.

China will account for the highest number of online users, pushing current leader Australia into second place, followed by South Korea and Taiwan, International Data Corp. Asia/Pacific (IDC) said.

The online population at the end of 1999 was 25.7 million, the firm said in a statement.

The number of Internet users regionwide is forecast to reach 141 million by 2004, with China, India, Korea and Australia accounting for 76 percent of the total, it said.

The value of e-commerce transactions will grow by a compounded annual rate of 128 percent between 1999 and 2004, IDC said without giving figures.

IDC's projections came from a study of 13 economies -- China, Australia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.

"The Internet market in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) experienced a tremendous amount of activity and growth during the first half of 2000," said Richard Jacobson, senior Internet analyst at IDC.

Key driving factors include falling Internet access tariffs, free access to online service providers and the foray by the so- called old economy companies into Internet-related activities, he said.

IDC's Internet market analyst Matthew McGarvey said many companies which were at the planning stage a year ago have now taken root.

"In addition, Y2K is no longer a worry and larger companies have increased the amount they are willing to invest in the Internet," McGarvey said.

The Asia-Pacific is "not a homogeneous region" with each country having its own unique needs, IDC said.

"For example, it is necessary to provide local language websites in many countries in the region," it said.