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Canadian business tycoon Keith Peiris met Tung Chee-hwa yesterday then gave a speech on China's entry to the World Trade Organisation, information technology, Silicon Valley and the problems of monopolies.

A normal day's work for the president and chief executive of a multimillion-dollar Web site company - except Keith is only 12 years old.

The Grade Seven student from London, Ontario, says he likes hockey and video games, but he does not watch TV. His only idol is Bill Gates.

He was part of the delegation in Hong Kong led by Canadian premier Jean Chretien. The nine-day trade mission, Team Canada, has already visited Beijing and Shanghai and leaves Hong Kong today.

Keith was catapulted to fame after founding Cyberteks Design and now has 25 clients in North America, some of them blue-chip firms. His 14 employees, which include his father, are mostly twice his age.

'They don't treat me as a kid,' he said. 'I am the boss, they don't mind taking orders from me.'

Business is booming and Keith gets a six-figure salary, but he admitted some clients had changed their minds when they found out how old he was.

'It's happened many times. People don't think they can trust a 12-year-old boy, but the problem fades away as they see my quality of work.'

His father and mentor, Deepal Peiris, now vice-president of operations at Cyberteks, started teaching Keith computer skills when he was nine.

Dressed in business suit and tie, Keith spoke authoritatively to the Hong Kong Productivity Council in Kowloon Tong before demonstrating his www.cyberteks.net site. Earlier, the council and the Hong Kong Junior Chamber jointly awarded him the first Outstanding Digi Youth Award.

Thomas Tang, executive director of the council, said: 'The success of Mr Peiris at such a young age can certainly help to stimulate teenagers of Hong Kong to use IT innovatively in their schoolwork and subsequently in their future careers.'

But despite his confidence, Keith could not help letting the boy in him come out, giggling and appearing shy at times as reporters fired questions.

Almost a hundred people were in the audience to hear him. Lee Chun-kei, a 17-year-old student, said: 'He inspired me. I want to do the same as him.'

His friend, 13-year-old Derwin Chun Tak-wing, said: 'After I learned that I would see him today, I couldn't sleep for three nights - he is brilliant.'



I'm the boss, says Canadian Web-site design tycoon, 12