• by April 19, 2001

According to Gartner Group, Inc., Asian B2B Internet commerce in the Asia/Pacific region (including Japan) reached $96.8 billion in 2000, which was 22 percent of the worldwide total of $433.3 billion, and in 2001 it is on pace to reach $220 billion, or 24 percent of the total.

By 2005, Asia/Pacific will account for 28 percent of the worldwide total, with B2B Internet commerce transactions of $2.4 trillion. (sales of goods and services for which the order-taking process was completed via the Internet)

For marketers and advertisers involved in the global marketplace, a recent report by The Boston Consulting Group points out that e-commerce is changing the basis of business competition around the world. However, BCG predicts that most of the more than 750 horizontal and vertical e-marketplaces that have sprung up in Asia-Pacific over the past year (compared with about 1,100 in the United States) will not survive.

At greatest risk, according to BCG's report, are Asian companies serving global markets. While Western companies are driving down their costs (with average productivity gains of 6 percent estimated by 2010), Asian companies lag in implementation of the fundamental basis of competitive advantage-cost.

Read more here at CyberAtlas.