TradeWaltz signs MoU with Thailand National Telecom following announcement of ASEAN-Japan Economic Co-Creation Vision

　TradeWaltz Inc., operator of the trade information collaboration platform “TradeWaltz™”, is pleased to announce that it has signed a MoU with National Telecom PLC. of Thailand, the second collaboration MoU with another country since the ASEAN-Japan Economic Co-Creation Vision announced on August 22, 2023, in which the concept of digitizing and connecting trade procedures between ASEAN and Japan on the blockchain is announced.

■ASEAN-Japan Economic Co-Creation Vision　
　In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the friendship between ASEAN and Japan, the Economic Co-Creation Policy for the next 50 years was announced on August 22, 2023 during intergovernmental consultations to realize a safe, prosperous and free economic society between ASEAN and Japan, based on trust.
(https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2023/08/20230822005/20230822005.html)
　Among the four policies to be covered, “Enhancing Cyber and Physical Connectivity” includes the concrete implementation of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), elimination and digitization of trade procedures and DFFT (free and reliable data flow) to build a seamless logistics network, and the measure “Digitalization and Linkage of Trade Procedures in Commerce, Logistics, and Money Flow in ASEAN and Japan Using Blockchain Technology” is mentioned.

■Thailand’s Trade Digitalization Initiatives
Thailand is one of the countries that has led and promoted trade digitalization efforts in international discussions. When Thailand assumed the ASEAN chair in 2019, it put “Trade Digitalization in ASEAN region” on the agenda and the Cabinet decided to develop the National Digital Trade Platform (NDTP) under Thailand Banker’s Association (TBA). Since then, Thailand has been working on trade digitalization on a national level.

The Trade Consortium, the predecessor of TradeWaltz has been discussing and conducting the PoC between Japan and Thailand since 2019. In 2022 when Thailand assumed a presidency of APEC, TradeWaltz and NDTP signed an “Agreement on System Linkage (TOR)” and the two parties started a project for connecting two countries’ digital trade platforms. (https://www.tradewaltz.com/en/news/575/) The project was adopted as an “Indo-Pacific Region Supply Chain Resilience Grant” by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The system linkage between TradeWaltz and NDTP was successfully done and the PoC was taken place with the participation of Japanese and Thai companies, using actual transaction data. The result was announced at the APEC 2022 in Thailand. (https://www.tradewaltz.com/en/news/991/)

Through this project, NDTP has launched the concept of subdividing NDTP into separate platforms for shippers, banks, and other functions, developing them as separate platforms and connecting them to an integrated system called “PromptTrade” operated by NDTP. They will continue to work with TradeWaltz to realize trade digitalization.

■Signing of MoU for future collaboration
On September 12, 2023, TradeWaltz signed a MoU with Thailand National Telecom, the operator of the National Single Window (NSW), which is customs system in Thailand, and a member of the Pan-Asian E-Commerce Alliance (PAA), to realize the full digitalization of trade between Japan and Thailand. TradeWaltz will start discussions for connecting directly to NSW. Once TradeWaltz and NSW are linked, import customs declarations in Thailand can be made, using data entered on TradeWaltz by Japanese trade practitioners, which results in eliminating the need for manual key-in into the Thai customs system.

【Comments by the parties involved】  
Somphong Assawaboonmee, Vice President, Data Interchange Business Department, National Telecom Public Company Limited
”We are pleased to sign the MoU between TradeWaltz and National Telecom (NT) to collaborate platform-to-platform interconnection. NT is the NSW operator of Thailand regulated by Thai Customs Department to provide paperless customs services and trade facilitation for importers and exporters. We have discussed with TradeWaltz the solution to implement the connectivity between NT’s NSW platform and TradeWaltz’s Platform since the 67^th PAA meeting in May 2023. We believe that the collaboration will support the international trade facilitation for the trader of two countries. “

Hirohisa Kojima, CEO, TradeWaltz Inc.   
“We are pleased to have signed a cooperation MoU with Thailand National Telecom. TradeWaltz has been discussing trade digitalization with Thailand since the time of Trade Consortium. We hope to realize the trade digitalization between Japan and Thailand through the system linkage between TradeWaltz and Thai Customs and to spread digital trade to ASEAN countries, using this model case of two countries.”

■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 of “TradeWaltz™,” ^*1 a trade-related information-sharing platform using blockchain Number of Employees: 61 (full-time)    
Website:              https://www.tradewaltz.com/en
Shareholders:     NTT DATA Corporation / Toyota Tsusho Corporation /
　　　　　　　　  UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. / Sumitomo Corporation /
                              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.
SDG initiatives:  Our services mainly promote initiatives on themes 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 17.
*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.