Smart cards will soon replace most of the cash and other paper certificates in the pockets of Chinese people, the China Information Industry Chamber of Commerce predicted at the Fourth International Smart Card Fair, reports China Daily.
At the on-going exhibition, which started on Wednesday and will run through Saturday, more than 10 government ministries said they would adopt smart cards in their daily operations, says the newspaper.
Last year, more than 230 million smart cards were issued in China, most of them in the form of telephone cards, according to Chen Chong, deputy director of the department of electronics and IT products under the Ministry of Information Industry. Of these cards, 120 million were public telephone IC cards and another 42 million were mobile phone SIM cards.
China Daily reports more than 10 government ministries and financial organisations - including trade, transportation, power, medicine, insurance, tourism, census registration, taxation, banking and utilities fee collection - have started to adopt IC cards in their operation.
The market demand exceeded 300 million by the end of last year and will jump again this year, according to Chen.
Although domestic products control 70 per cent of the domestic market, most of the leading IC makers, including Gemplus, ST Microelectronics, Philips and Motorola, have set up production bases on the Chinese mainland.