Issue No. 17 - Sep 2008
One-stop On-line Platform to Expand Your Business

Being one of the SMEs, are you facing the challenge of finding new markets for your products?  In growing your business, you may find yourselves hampered by the enormous investment costs, which are usually beyond the capability of SMEs.  Some of you do take advantage of e-commerce or on-line shops.  However, complicated processes involved in Internet promotion, platform development, and human resources management are also no simple task for SMEs.

Global Market Development – Low-cost High-return Solution

Now, SMEs can turn to those well-established and secured international trading platforms for a low-cost high-return channel to expand their business to overseas markets.  Information shows that one of these platforms has already penetrated into 38 hot markets including the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France and Spain, with over 250 million buyers from around the world.

On-line Business Expansion – Unlimited Opportunities

Popular products traded on the Internet range widely from electronics and computer products, digital cameras, electronic games, toys, collectables to fashion. Nothing can be more powerful than using statistics to showcase the unlimited business opportunities on the Internet.  On an on-line trading platform, one laptop computer sold in every 11 minutes, one mobile phone in every 21 seconds, and one digital camera in every 50 seconds!   In the past 12 months, sellers in Hong Kong had successfully sold their products to 215 countries and regions, with on average 5 products sold to Malta, 3 products to Cyprus and 1 product to Puerto Rico in every hour.

Successful Story – On-line Stock Clearance

A successful story of on-line trading comes from a medium-sized entrepreneur, who has been in the electronics trading business for 9 years.  In order to enter international markets, he started his on-line business one year ago via a global trading platform to sell his products to countries like the US and France.  With tremendous number of users on the platform, he was able to reach buyers from all over the world and quickly clear all his stock.  Those previously unpopular products with zero demand in the first three months of launching now remain popular for 3 to 5 years!

Source: eBay Hong Kong www.ebay.com.hk

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