Octopus has become a part of life in Hong Kong, we use it to take public transport, shop in chain stores, eat at fast food chains and so on.
Octopus was launched in September 1997 and had already issued up to 17 million; the number of circulation was more than twice the resident population of Hong Kong. Some of the people in the Mainland who travel to Hong Kong also have bought the Octopus. In Hong Kong, more than 12,000 consumer sites accept Octopus as means of payment. In this year’s April 7, Hong Kong SAR Government and the Guangdong provincial government signed in Beijing, the “Hong Kong-Guangdong Cooperation Framework Agreement”. In Chapter V, we can see that the using of the Octopus in Guangdong, especially in the Pearl River Delta, will increase since there is a big market for Octopus.
The Octopus is a private limited company, out of the 100 million dollars registered capital, only four thousand two million dollars were paid up. Which accounted for 57.4% of MTR and KCR 22.1%, 12.4% of KMB, Citybus, 5%, and New World First Bus Services Limited accounted for 3.05%, New World First Ferry Services Limited 0.05%. Octopus MTR as the largest shareholder should have the largest share of equity. MTR annual income should be fully counted as part of the turnover and profit. The income from Octopus can decrease the chance of MTR fare hike. The Octopus users should enjoy this benefit.
Octopus Holdings Limited owns a lot of Hong Kong and Mainland residents’ personal information, under the Companies Ordinance in Hong Kong, limited company does not need to disclose information to the public. The way Octopus handle these personal information should get more attention. Octopus Holdings Limited must ensure that the personal data gathered be kept safe.
The Government definitely has a role to play, especially the Privacy Commissioner; he should ask the Octopus Co. Ltd. to disclose the way they handle these personal information. The Government must not say that this is a matter of the private limited company, and not its concern.
With the increasing number of Octopus, particularly in the Pearl River Delta of Guangdong Province, Shenzhen has established a coordination group responsible for coordinating the work of the Octopus exchange. In fact, some fast-food chain in Shenzhen had accepted Octopus as electronic money. Other experts have proposed the same Octopus card on the implantation of “dual chip” – one for settlement for the RMB, and the other for the Hong Kong dollar. I believe in the near future, the Octopus Card will be popular in the Mainland. Therefore, the personal data and the users’ privacy should be protected.
Actually the Octopus is a powerful tool for “tracking” people, in the “sulfuric acid bomb” case in Causeway Bay, the police was able to track the offender down by the Octopus information, since the offender took the mass-transit railway to Causeway Bay and committed the crime.
The Octopus Limited Company holds important information of all the users including what、when、how much they pay for. In fact, they have all the consuming pattern of the Octopus users. Their information is very valuable and sometimes quite private. This information must be kept confident as far as possible.