APNIC account holders in the Very Small tier from Least Developed Countries (LDC) will benefit from a phased removal of the Membership fee discount upon LDC graduation, following a decision made by the Executive Council (EC) at their September 2025 meeting in Da Nang, Viet Nam.
Since June 2009, APNIC has provided a 50% discount on membership fees for economies categorized as LDCs according to the United Nations (UN). Under the existing fee schedule, once an economy graduates from LDC status, the 50% discount is removed, and membership fees are paid at the standard rate.
Under the new phased approach, all future LDC graduations will be subject to the following fee schedule changes:
- On the first membership renewal following the LDC graduation date, Very Small account holders will receive a 25% discount on the full fee. All other account holders will be charged the full fee.
- On the second membership renewal following the LDC graduation date, all account holders will be charged the full fee.
There are currently ten LDC economies in the APNIC service region, with upcoming graduations scheduled for Bangladesh, Nepal and Lao PDR in November 2026, the Solomon Islands in 2027, and Cambodia in 2029.
Consultation identified that Very Small Members, whose revenue is typically small, are most sensitive to an increase in fees due to LDC graduation, and therefore, were in most need of fee assistance.
The above discount of 25% will provide relief to ~71% of the total graduating Members in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Lao PDR.
APNIC continues to offer payment by instalment, or a payment extension, on a case-by-case basis to account holders from graduating LDC economies requiring assistance.
Graduation from the LDC category is a multi-year process managed by the UN Committee for Development Policy (CDP). APNIC actively communicates with impacted Members throughout the UN CDP’s six-year process to provide them with adequate time to prepare for the discount removal upon graduation.
LDC economies that have graduated since 2009
The EC also resolved to provide the same discount to account holders in economies where LDC graduation has already occurred since the LDC discount commenced in 2009. This means account holders in Samoa (graduated in 2014), Vanuatu (graduated in 2020), and Bhutan (graduated in 2023) who are in the Very Small tier at the time of renewal in 2026 and who were account holders at the time of graduation, will receive a 25% discount on their 2026 fees.
The APNIC fee schedules will be updated to reflect the EC’s decision in due course.
The EC takes this opportunity to acknowledge the feedback from Members on this issue. The EC would also like to highlight that Member fees actively contribute to the stable, transparent and trusted governance of the global Internet, and thanks all Members and account holders for their continued support of APNIC.
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