and said it had seen a keen interest in its e-payment solutions products from banks.

The start-up company, which is a global provider of electronic payment processing services, announced financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2000, the first quarter of its fiscal year 2000.

First Ecom, which is still in development stage, posted revenues for the first quarter of fiscal year 2000 of $4,802.

Operating loss for the first quarter of 2000 after amortisation, depreciation and non-cash compensation associated with stock options was $2,632,051, as compared to the first quarter 1999 operating loss of $ 546,280.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2000 which includes the interest income on the proceeds of the recent private placement was $2,452,712, as compared to the net loss for the first quarter of 1999 of $540,535.

Net loss per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2000 15 cents per share as compared to the net loss per 6 cents for the quarter ended March 31, 1999.

"We have had a great first quarter,'' said Gregory Pek, president and CEO of First Ecom.com. "There is a growing willingness on the part of banks in Asia to consider out sourcing their payment processing to us. At present we are in discussions with a number of them to this end.

"Some of these are major international financial institutions. There is also increasing pressure being brought to bear on banks by businesses for an e-commerce payment solution. They are approaching us, as it is becoming increasingly apparent that First Ecom can provide banks and financial institutions with universal, secure, cost efficient electronic payment solutions that work worldwide, can be up and running quickly and are beneficial for both the bank and the merchant.''