Singapore, Taiwan E-C Exchanges Link Up

Singapore-based developer of business-to-business e-commerce solutions
bex.com pte ltd. Wednesday linked its two e-commerce exchanges, IBEX
(International Business Exchange) and UBEX (Universal Business Exchange), to allow business transactions between member companies in Southeast Asia
and greater China.

bex.com, formerly called Lyrehc International, formed UBEX April this year
in partnership with Taiwanese company Ho-Yeh Investment Ltd, the sister
company of the clearing bank Chinatrust Commercial Bank. bex.com’s first
e-commerce exchange, IBEX, was formed last year June in partnership with
the Development Bank of Singapore (DBS Bank).

The two clearing banks will provide the necessary interbank and currency
exchange transactions for settlements between members of the two exchanges
in Southeast Asia and greater China.

To date, bex.com has signed up with 18 supply chains in Singapore and
Taiwan combined.

bex.com is targeting a revenue of more than US$4 million from business
transactions in IBEX and UBEX by June next year. The company also hopes to
get 600 transacting companies in Singapore and 2000 in China by end
this year.

Targeted vertical markets include consumer electronics, PCs, office
supplies, pharmaceuticals, and tourism.

The Internet Trading Center (ITC) e-business solution, developed by bex.com
with funding from the National Science and Technology Board (NSTB) in
Singapore, is running both exchanges. It is capable of handling the entire
transaction process from sourcing, ordering, and tracking to payment
settlements securely over the Internet.

Authentication is performed using digital certificates stored in smart
cards. Payment methods include account to account transfers, domestic and
international letters of credit and telegraphic transfers.

Data centres for Southeast Asia and China sit with the two banks
respectively.

“In time, more BEXes will be formed in different regions of the world. We
will then link them together, eventually creating a truly integrated global
e-commerce community,” said Yong Voon Fee, chairman and CEO of bex.com.

The US, Europe, and Japan e-commerce exchange centres will be formed by end
this year, he said.