During an e-trade environment appraisal symposium held on September 1 in Beijing, the APEC Working Group on Paperless Trading announced in a report that Korea appears to be the region"s e-trade leader along with Hong Kong and Singapore.

 Mandated by APEC ECSG (Electronic Commerce Steering Group), the Chinese Ministry of Commerce prepared the 'Report on Paperless Trading of APEC Economies' following a six-month field survey of 21 APEC member countries that began in February this year and collection of additional information.

 In document standardization, e-trade technology development and practical application sectors, the APEC Working Group classified the status of e-trade projects being promoted by respective governments and private organizations into five levels. As a result, Korea, Singapore and Hong Kong were classified at 'Level 5,' the U.S., Australia and Taiwan at 'Level 4' and Japan, New Zealand, etc. at 'Level 3.'

 The report also noted that Korea is leading other nations in customs clearance automation services and the exchange of certificates of origin between nations