FANA was established in November of 1993 in Hong Kong. Founding members were Puma Int'l- Taiwan, Pan Ocean Transport - Singapore, Hwan Hee of South Korea, Puma Cargo HK, Eagle Trans of Thailand and Puma of Malaysia.. The basic tenets and rules of FANA were laid down at that time and remain mostly in effect to this day. There has, of course, been a great deal of evolution and refinement in procedures and regulations as circumstances and the inherent dynamism of the Members cause amendments and improvements to be introduced at every Annual General Meeting (AGM).

Hands on operation by the owner(s) is perhaps the most fundamental and basic condition of FANA membership and has been adhered to since day one.

Another bedrock condition of continued membership is financial stability and probity. Written Bank Recommendations are required of all members and strict procedures are in place to monitor that inter member accounts are settled within a maximum allowed time. Credit references are also required of all FANA membership applicants.

It was originally decided that trial membership would only be granted based on a nomination/recommendation by a current full member based on actual mutual operational experience. This resulted in a steady growth in membership over the proceeding years in which quality over quantity was stressed. It was felt, however, by the great majority of members attending the 2000 AGM in Los Angeles that FANA needed to accelerate the process of gaining new members in certain under represented regions such as Latin America and that a new method must be established to make this so. Accordingly, the Membership Committee was greatly increased in number and was mandated to seek out and solicit potential FANA members based on market intelligence without having to wait upon a current member's actual nomination. Willing applicants are granted Trial Membership by the Committee but can only be voted into Full Membership by the current membership at the next AGM after completion of a minimum six month trial period. This new approach is already bearing fruit and it is expected that FANA membership will grow rapidly. It should be noted though that the same criteria of operational excellence and financial reliability remain strict Prerequisites of membership as always.