Marubeni Invests in TradeWaltz for the Strong Promotion of Trading DX across All Sectors in Japan

Marubeni Corporation
TradeWaltz Inc.

TradeWaltz Inc. (hereinafter, “TradeWaltz”) and Marubeni Corporation (hereinafter,“Marubeni”)　announced that an agreement has been reached for Marubeni to invest in TradeWaltz (hereinafter, “investment”) and that Marubeni’s payment to do so has been completed. This investment aims to strengthen connections with overseas platforms and globalize ”TradeWaltz™”^*1, a cross-industry type of trading-related information-sharing platform (PF) operated by TradeWaltz. With this investment, the cumulative amount of funds raised for TradeWaltz will be 4 billion Japanese yen.

■TradeWaltz’s Initiatives
　Since its launch in November 2020, TradeWaltz has been active as a startup supporting all sectors in Japan and is jointly funded by 14 organizations from industry, government, and academia. The “TradeWaltz™” platform operated by TradeWaltz enables the complete digitization and enhanced operational efficiency of analog trade procedures in Japan and elsewhere around the world, and past demonstration results have shown that the platform improved operational efficiency by 44%. By eliminating the need for paper documents and mailings, the platform also enables cost reduction and professionals involved in trade executions to telework.
　In 2022, as part of the Indo-Pacific Supply Chain Enhancement Project, TradeWaltz succeeded in demonstrating system connections between trade PFs in five countries, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, as well as data linkage with users with Thailand, and presented the results at the Trade DX Symposium on November 16 in conjunction with the APEC 2022 Thailand Summit.

■Marubeni’s Initiatives
　Marubeni is a general trading company, encompassing a diverse range of business activities across wide-ranging fields. These fields include lifestyle, ICT business & logistics, food, agri business, forest products, chemicals, metals & mineral resources, energy, power, infrastructure projects, aerospace & ship, finance, leasing & real estate business, construction, industrial machinery & mobility, next generation business development, and next generation corporate development, by using its broad business networks, both within Japan and overseas.
　In 2022, Marubeni invested in Covantis SA, a global digital Blockchain startup which develops and operates digital platforms for post-trade execution processes of agri-commodities in bulk. Marubeni has also been participating in initiatives to improve efficiency, accuracy, and transparency of global trade execution processes. 
　Now, by participating in the TradeWaltz project in addition to the Covantis project, Marubeni plans to accelerate the digital transformation (DX) of international trading in various sectors, including grain & oilseed, to enable supply chain optimization from the initial supplier to end-buyer, and to further strengthen the value proposition to the market participants.

Comments from Representatives:　
Akira Terakawa, Senior Executive Vice President, Marubeni Corporation　
“Marubeni has set the digital platform business as one of its growth approaches in its mid-term management strategy GC2024. Through this investment, we will contribute to the improvement of efficiency and DX, which is an issue in the trading industry, and the strengthening and transparency of traceability, which is an issue in terms of sustainability, mainly in grain trading, which is one of our strengths.”

Hirohisa Kojima, President & CEO, TradeWaltz Inc.
“We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Marubeni Corporation for their investment in our company. We are aiming to implement an industry-government-academia ‘All Japan’ approach to achieve DX in trade, and in order to realize this goal, we would like more investment participation from the eight general trading companies and major manufacturers. With the participation of Marubeni Corporation, the ‘All Japan’ concept has been established and accelerated, and we feel that we have created a structure for globalization. We will continue to strive to create the future of trade.”

■About TradeWaltz Inc.
Name:                   TradeWaltz Inc.
Representative:   President & CEO Hirohisa Kojima
Office:                   KASUMIGASEKI BUILDING 36F WORKSTYLING, 3-2-5
　                           Kasumigaseki,Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6036
Established:         April 2020
Main Business:     Provision of the SaaS*^² of “TradeWaltz™,” a trade-related  information-sharing platform using blockchain
Number of Employees: 46 (full-time)             
Website:                https://www.tradewaltz.com
Shareholders:       NTT DATA Corporation
　　　　　　　　　Toyota Tsusho Corporation
　　　　　　　　　UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd.
　　　　　　　　　Mitsubishi Corporation
　　　　　　　　　TW Link Corporation
　　　　　　　　　Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.
　　　　　　　　　Toyoshima & Co., Ltd.
　　　　　　　　　Kamigumi Co., Ltd.
　　　　　　　　　FUJITRANS CORPORATION
　　　　　　　　　MITSUI-SOKO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
　　　　　　　　　NISSIN CORPORATION
　　　　　　　　　MUFG Bank, Ltd.
　　　　　　　　　Marubeni Corporation
　　　　　　　　　Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation
　　　　　　　　　Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.
*1 “TradeWaltz™” is a registered trademark of TradeWaltz Inc. in Japan.
  　Other product names, company names, and organization names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of each company.
*2 Abbreviation of “Software as a Service,” a mechanism by which users can use necessary software functions via the Internet.