FEDEX TEAMS WITH E-COMMERCE COMPANY IN ASIA

   Federal Express, the international air express subsidiary of FDX Corp., has signed an agreement with Hong Kong-based First Ecom.com to develop automated payment processing systems for international package shippers and Internet retailers.
   First Ecom.com builds electronic payment solutions that allow merchants and banks to process credit card transactions online in multiple currencies. FedEx customers in Asia can now access First Ecom.com systems to pay shipping fees.
   The two companies also have agreed to jointly develop and build a payment settlement solution for e-commerce customers that will debit a customer’s credit card only after purchases have been confirmed as shipped.
   The jointly-built system will combine First Ecom.com’s payment processing gateway and FedEx’s bar code tracking system. FedEx and First Ecom.com hope the new system will spur online shopping in Asia.
   Last week, United Parcel Service invested an undisclosed sum in a Hong Kong-based Internet company called NetCel 360 to boost its presence in Asia’s business-to-business e-commerce market.