The Asia-Pacific business-to-business (B2B) market is expected to
grow at an unprecedented rate over the next five years, with business
purchases over the internet catapulting by more than USdollars 500
billion by 2005, according to the IDC.
The researcher's report shows that companies in the region, excluding
Japan, will purchase more than USdollars 516 billion of direct and
indirect materials through the internet by 2005. That figure represents
a 3,900 per cent increase over the USdollars 12.8 billion spent last
year.
The report also revealed a stark contrast between internet-related stock
market sentiment in Asia-Pacific compared with B2B e-commerce revenue
forecasts.
It added that internet-related firms should take advantage of this
growing opportunity rather than dwell on the losses that have surrounded
the internet.
Singapore-based Richard Jacobson, IDC's B2B internet research manager,
said: "Investors who are cringing away from internet-related markets
should be seeing the tremendous potential in the B2B e-commerce
market."
The report added that businesses must first overcome many challenges.
