Press Release - Mar 16, 2001 (NST)

Internet Penetration On The Rise

By Michael Sun msun@nstp.com.my

FRI - INTERNET penetration in Malaysia is expected to reach a critical mass soon in the promotion of the nation's e-commerce industry provided the current growth momentum can be sustained, said Telekom Malaysia Bhd chief executive Datuk Mohd Khir Abdul Rahman.

International Data Corporation's current projections indicate that by 2005, the number of Internet subscribers in Malaysia is expected to reach 4.5 million.

As at the end of 2000, there were 1.5 million of them, up from a mere 20,000 about five years ago.

"We expect e-commerce to take off in Malaysia in a big way, in line with an exponential growth in the number of Internet users.

"In Malaysia, about RM600 million worth of transactions were carried out through the Internet in 2000, but this figure is projected to increase by more than two-fold to RM1.6 billion in 2001.

"Globally, we are looking at an industry which is expected to generate between US$1 trillion (RM3.8 trillion) and US$3 trillion (RM11.4 trillion) a year by 2002.

"E-commerce commands about 25 per cent of transactions globally done."

He said this when launching Telekom Multimedia's Netmyne Web Application Services (WASP) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

He also launched its web application service, Netmyne Exchange 2000 (Netmyne E2K) which provides messaging and web collaboration services.

Md Khir said that in coming up with Netmyne WASP, Telekom Multimedia is complementing Telekom Malaysia's efforts in helping to promote the growth of e-commerce in Malaysia.

Telekom Multimedia's chief operating officer Baharum Salleh said with Netmyne E2K, Telekom Multimedia is now the sole provider of Microsoft-outsourced on-line applications in Malaysia.

For this, it has teamed up with key partners Microsoft Malaysia Sdn Bhd and Hewlett-Packard Sales (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

Netmyne's inaugural web application utilises Microsoft Exchange 2000 and Windows 2000 solutions as its platform, with Hewlett-Packard as the key technology/hardware supplier.

Netmyne's WASP incorporates a range of features including e-mail, net-meeting, calendaring, personal workspace, group workspace, directory services, contracts and instant messaging.

These services are targeted at corporations, small and medium enterprises and business communities which need to jump-start into e-commerce at minimal investment.

Netmyne currently has a customer base of over 3,000 for its hosting services.

With the launch of Netmyne WASP, its existing customers can also have access to enterprise messaging services.

Watch the pre-recorded WASP launch here