PAA Must Broaden Outreach to Help ASEAN establish e-Commerce infrastructure

Published by The Star (Economy)

LANGKAWI May 20 - Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz called on the Pan-Asian E-Commerce Alliance (PAA) to broaden its outreach and propose ideas in getting ASEAN member countries to establish their own e-commerce infrastructure.

PAA, established in July 2000, is the first regional e-commerce alliance in Asia that promotes and provides a secured and reliable information technology infrastructure and facilities for efficient trade and logistics globally.

"If we are not electronically linked and are burdened by documents, the region will not be able to exploit its potential.

"This is a dynamic region and we must get everybody linked electronically or business will not be efficient," she told reporters after officiating the 15th PAA Steering Committee meeting here on Thursday.

Rafidah said that this would then require PAA to be involved in some measure of capacity building to assist Asian economies as well as come on board, especially those economies that have yet to establish their own electronic trade infrastructure.

"Unless, we have the national system in place, it will be difficult for the local business community that is doing business outside the domestic border to integrate into the Business to Business (B2B) e-commerce system regionally or globally," she said.

PAA groups eight members including Dagang Net Technologies Sdn Bhd, Crimsonlogic of Singapore, Trade-Van of Taiwan, Tradelink of Hong Kong, China International Electronic Commerce Centre (CIECC), Korea Trade Network (KTNET), Trade Electronic Data Interchange (TEDI) Club of Japan and Tedmev of Macau.

Rafidah said that the B2B e-commerce market would reach over than US$7.0 trillion (RM26.6 trillion) in 2004, a quantum leap from the US$14.5 billion (RM55.1 billion) in 1999.

The minister said that economic growth and trade expansion within the Asian region itself, provides the opportunity to create the necessary framework and infrastructure to integrate the regional business community into the electronic era.

Citing Malaysia, she said that the infrastructure and the development of the necessary services and applications were private sector driven with government providing the enabling environment and support services.

At this point of time, she said the 10 ASEAN members have signed the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement (in November 2000), aimed at reducing and bridging the digital divide in the region and enhancing the region's ICT sectors' competitiveness.

To date, 42 pilot projects have been identified, out of which 14 have been implemented by Malaysian companies that have been accorded Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) status.

Rafidah said initiatives within ASEAN to strengthen and improve the logistics and infrastructure which relate to trade such as the e-commerce system, would directly benefit not only the ASEAN business community but also those from outside the region which do business with ASEAN.

Given the significant trade of ASEAN with the Asian neighbours, in particular Japan, China and Korea, she said it would be a logical move forward for PAA to collaborate with ASEAN as a group, through integration into some of the key e-ASEAN initiatives.

In the first half of 2003, ASEAN's global trade stood at US$378.6 billion (RM1.438 billion), with intra-ASEAN trade accounting for 21.6 percent at US$81.7 billion (RM310.4 billion) while trade with Japan accounted for 13.7 percent, China 6.2 percent and Korea 4.1 percent.

Rafidah said that PAA too could assist ASEAN governments to create the seamless ASEAN market in the region and to introduce the necessary harmonisation and standardisation at all requisite levels in the flow of trade.