2002 Press Release
The Alliance, as it is presently constituted, represents a region whose economic strength is comparable to the USA, says Mr Lee Yi Shyan, CEO of International Enterprise Singapore
Singapore, 10 May 2002 - The Pan-Asian e-Commerce Alliance (PAA) held its 8th Steering Committee meeting in Singapore from 9th to 10th May 2002. The meeting was attended by CrimsonLogic, Infoshare, KTNET, Tradelink, Trade-Van, and TEDI Club. Representatives from DagangNet of Malaysia also attended the meeting by invitation, having applied for PAA membership.
Speaking on behalf of the Alliance after the meeting, Mr Justin Yue, Chairman of the PAA and CEO of Tradelink said, "We are extremely pleased with the significant progress we have made in these two days. In a matter of just four short months, the Alliance has grown from five to seven members. At the 7th meeting in January, we admitted TEDI Club as a member. And at this meeting, we unanimously endorse the application of DagangNet for the PAA membership."
Said Mr Yong Voon Choon, General Manager of DagangNet, "DagangNet is honoured to represent Malaysia in this important regional eCommerce initiative. With our participation, we hope to help integrate the Malaysian importers and exporters into the global eCommerce arena."
Mr Lee Yi Shyan, CEO of International Enterprise Singapore and Chairman of CrimsonLogic, hosted a welcome dinner for the PAA delegates. In his welcome address, Mr Lee voiced the unreserved support of Singapore for the work of the Alliance. The Alliance as it is presently constituted, according to Mr Lee, represents a region whose economic strength is comparable to the USA. "China, Japan and ASEAN imported US$945 billion worth of merchandise in 2001, close to that of the USA at US$1181 billion. Anything we could do to enhance the trade and investment flows in the region will have significant economic spin-offs to the business communities," said Mr Lee.
The PAA also reported significant progress in its various projects. "Our Certification Authority Mutual Recognition Scheme made further headway today," said Mr Yue. Following Digi-Sign of Hong Kong and TaiCA of Taiwan, Netrust of Singapore was granted recognition making a total of 3 Certification Authorities that have been recognized under the scheme.
"With CrimsonLogic's security infrastructure coupled with Netrust partnership, the Singapore business community can look forward to secure trade within the region," said Mr V Mathivanan, CEO of CrimsonLogic.
Certification Authorities from China, Korea and Japan are undergoing the assessment process and their applications for recognition are expected as soon as the assessment process is completed.
The pilot of the PAA's Secure Cross Border Transaction Service is also gathering steam. Trade-Van reported at the meeting the participation of The Formosa Plastics Group in the project which, after completing the pilot phase, will be formally launched in early 2003.
Looking to the future, PAA members are also considering integrating the PAA Secure Cross-border Transaction Service to their current Government transaction services and to expand the four commercial documents covered to other commercial documents required for financial settlement, in response to feedback from customers.
The meeting also discussed progress made in other projects, including the PAA Portal, Cargo Tracking and financial fulfillment.
To establish a clear-cut identity, the PAA has adopted a new logo which resembles the helm of ship, to symbolize its mission to pilot the development of eCommerce in the Asian Pacific region.
The 9th meeting of the PAA will be held in Hong Kong on 22-23 August 2002.