In 2000, Tradelink and other major e-commerce service providers in Asia formed the Pan Asian E-Commerce Alliance (PAA) to promote and provide secure and trusted cross-border paperless trade in the Asia-Pacific region. Starting with just three members, the PAA has now evolved to include as many as 10 members and 2 associates. The members are Tradelink (Hong Kong), CIECC (China), Trade-Van (Taipei), KTNet (Korea), CrimsonLogic (Singapore), NACCS (Japan), DagangNet (Malaysia), TEDMEV (Macau), CAT Telecom (Thailand) and InterCommerce (the Philippines); the associates are JASTPRO (Japan) and EDI-I (Indonesia).

At present, the e-commerce service providers from the region handle millions of electronic transactions every day. The Pan Asian Portal, developed and run by the PAA, provides a common platform that promotes connectivity among importers and exporters as well as between users from the banking and insurance sectors. Through consolidation of key customer, product and service information, the Portal helps strengthen customers’ competitiveness in the global market. It is envisaged that not only will the PAA bring benefits to its members and customers alike but also create huge growth potential in the Asian region.

As part of its best endeavor to advocate the implementation of cross-border electronic trade across the Asia-Pacific region, the PAA, through its different working groups, is working on the following initiatives with a view to facilitating trade documentation and streamlining the trade workflow.

• Secure Cross-Border Transaction Services
• Mutual Recognition of Public Key Infrastructure
• Pan-Asian Portal
• Cross-Border Cargo Tracking Service
• ECO Initiative