| Project Reference: | ITP/039/19LP |
| Project Title: | e-Commerce / e-Logistics Transaction Execution on Cloud with Smart Contract, Blockchain and AI Technologies |
| Hosting Institution: | LSCM R&D Centre (LSCM) |
| Abstract: | Over the last 10 years, e-commerce has developed as the global trends of buy-and-sell of goods over the Internet. As the MSMEs create and/or extend their business onto the Internet, they need more IT-based methods and tools to enable their business transactions over the Internet. This project is focused on the MSME’s requirements for negotiation over internet, closing trade deals in business contracts, shipping and payment arrangements, and lastly online dispute resolution in case disagreement arises. In our part, research will be conducted to derive the relevant technologies. Support is eminent to HK’s development of such e-commerce trade facilitation to the industry. The trading, manufacturing and logistics industry associations all embrace technology for bettering their competitive edge in international business dealings. On the government policy level, DOJ from the angle of “Access to Justice”, solicits LegCo’s support to the development of eBRAM Centre which is an NGO ODR services for MSMEs settling business disputes during their trades. For promoting HK’s trade investment, InvestHK identifies machine translation / transcription as technological advantage during their marketing communications with foreign investments overseas. Contemporarily, the emerging technology of Smart Contract on Blockchain offers great potential to support automation of the business contract execution. All events of conditions and actions can be recorded in Blockchain as non-repudiated registry. In this regard, Blockchain lends MSMEs the advantage of transacting securely over the open Internet while at the same time protected for confidentiality. Next, AI with Deep Computing has advanced translation and transcription to the accuracy comprehensible for transacting parties to communicate from multi-lingual markets. Business documentations and virtual meeting discussions can be translated and transcribed to the understandable languages for easy communication between transacting parties. With these innovative technologies, the proposed platform is an important function complementary to ODR for eBRAM and the holistic development of a Hong Kong selfdeveloped ODR platform in the view of DOJ. The development of the e-arbitration and emediation system (ITP/013/18LP) is seen as one of the building blocks of the HK’s ODR platform and SCUBA is also regarded as another. This project will develop the technologies as cloud resources and implement PoC with the eBRAM Centre and InvestHK as business dealing and marketing platform. The goal is to enable MSMEs for easy adoption when setting up their Internet channel on the platform with each other during their marketing communications, deal-making, contractual agreement, execution and settlement phases. With this project, we shall create the cloud framework of resources for our MSMEs to engage with better capability in the current trends of global e-commerce businesses. |
| Project Coordinator: | Dr Frank Tong |
| Approved Funding Amount: | HK$18M |
| Project Period: | 31 Mar 2020 - 30 Mar 2022 |
