The government created a private company to manage TradeNet, which in
1988 led to the formation of Singapore
Network Services, now known as CrimsonLogic. Though funded by government
agencies, the company is structured as a
private, for-profit firm. The government
reasoned that this approach would not
require it to bear the cost of operating a
nationwide network of infrastructure and
services. Each account user pays $20 a
month and less than $3 per transaction or
permit. The first transaction on TradeNet
was a shipping application submitted on
January 1, 1989. By the end of that year
TradeNet handled 45% of documentation
for sea and air shipments in Singapore.