The Asia Pacific Countertrade Association Pte Ltd is the privatised entity and successor of APCA, the Asia Pacific Countertrade Association formed in 1994 to represent and serve the countertrade, offset and structured finance community in the Asia Pacific Region.

It was decided unanimously to dissolve the association following its 10th annual general meeting in 2003 and to privatise some of its activities and to keep alive the APCA brandname and to continue to host, if and when feasible, the APCA Conference Series. The dissolution was formally completed in December 2004.

Among the many forms of countertrade, the offset form has increased in usage in connection with government related procurements for both developed and developing countries. The inviolable duty of a government to secure value for money for procurements made from taxpayers' monies or public funds compels one to consider requiring, if and where the circumstances are appropriate, offset; many doing so under different names, such as industrial participation, industrial cooperation, industrial benefits or partnership for development (just to name a few).

Many governments in the developing nations and their private corporations however lag behind their western counterparts in offset best practices. APCA's primary focus is now to serve this need within and beyond the Asia Pacific Region.

David Hew
Director, Asia Pacific Countertrade Association Pte Ltd