TradeWaltz Inc. Speaks at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop and Proposes Five-country Platform Collaboration with Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia – Aiming for Data Collaboration by the End of FY2022

TradeWaltz Inc. Speaks at Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Workshop and Proposes Five-country Platform Collaboration with Singapore, Thailand, New Zealand, and Australia – Aiming for Data Collaboration by the End of FY2022

06.30.2021
Press Release
TradeWaltz Inc.

TradeWaltz Inc. which operates the trading-related information-sharing platform known as “TradeWaltz,” participated as a Japanese platform at the “Utilizing Digital Technology in the Field of Trade Facilitation under the Current COVID-19 Pandemic and Beyond: Best-Practices Sharing Workshops ~ 1st Workshop – Trade Facilitation through Trade Platforms ~” organized by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) on May 11, and made a proposal to bring global trade closer to a more digital “future of trade” by linking data among platforms in each country, in addition to improving trade efficiency within each country.

  ▶APEC Official Documentation Page: https://bit.ly/3iAx5CC (shortened URL)

■ Improving the efficiency of trade practices, remote work, and supply chain visibility required during the COVID-19 pandemic

　Trade operations, which are associated with the flow of all kinds of goods, still involve the processing of paper documents in offices and government agencies. All over the world, but especially in Asia (*1), the time required for these various procedures is so long and paper hundling is one of the factors preventing remote work. The introduction of trade platforms is accelerating in many countries as a means to solve this problem.

As an example, past demonstration results using TradeWaltz, a trade platform from Japan, have shown that operational efficiency can be improved 44-60% in Asia (*2). It is assumed that remote work can be promoted by increasing the areas where trade documents can be handled on a PC without having to go to the office. In addition, from a national perspective, there are expectations that the data on commercial products handled and delivery routes will make it easier to find alternative trade routes or alternative business channels in the event of an emergency.

　However, in order to create further efficiency, it is necessary to coordinate trade platforms among nations and create interoperability.

■ Proposal of five-country platform collaboration at the APEC workshop

In addition to Singapore’s trade platform “NTP” and Thailand’s trade platform “NDTP,” with which TradeWaltz Inc. has conducted cooperation demonstrations in the past, TradeWaltz Inc. is planning to cooperate with the APEC 2021 host country New Zealand and Australia’s trade platform, TradeWindow. At the APEC workshop, we proposed that we begin detailed studies aimed at establishing platform partnerships among the five countries by the end of FY2022. We will proceed with more detailed studies after that. In response to the proposal, TradeVAN, a Taiwanese trade platform that was also present at the workshop, expressed its willingness to participate. The parties concerned will discuss and consider collaboration in this area, as well.

(*1) According to World Bank survey data, Asia takes 30-150 times longer to complete trade procedures than the EU.

(*2) In the past, Tradewaltz Inc. has demonstrated that it is possible to improve operational efficiency by up to 60% in a collaboration demonstration conducted in Thailand. (Japanese only)

     https://www.nttdata.com/jp/ja/news/services_info/2019/110500/

【Comments from People Involved】

TradeWaltz Inc., President & CEO, Hirohisa Kojima　

I would like to express my gratitude for the precious opportunity TradeWaltz Inc. had to speak at the APEC workshop to discuss trade and investment, as well as regional cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region. We were able to propose and discuss the interconnectivity of trade platforms among countries, citing specific targets and timing of cooperation, and we will work to make this a reality in the future.

TradeWaltz Inc., Managing Director and Head of CEO’s Office, Satoru Someya

I would like to thank everyone involved for giving me the precious opportunity to be a panelist despite my young age. It was a meaningful opportunity to discuss the future of fully digitalized global trade through the sharing of issues and good practices in promoting trade digitization in each country and the connection of trade platforms between countries. After the APEC event, we have already been in contact with TradeLens and the other speakers individually to follow up on the discussion. We hope to slowly but steadily become one of the hub for connecting the world’s trade data.

■About TradeWaltz Inc.
Company Name                     TradeWaltz Inc.
Representative                       Hirohisa Kojima, President & CEO
Headquarters                         2F, Marunouchi Nijubashi Building, 2-2 Marunouchi 3-Chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0005, Japan
Date Established                   April 2020
Main Operations                   Delivery of the TradeWaltz® SaaS(*2), a trading-related
information-sharing platform built with blockchain technology
Employees                              24
URL:                                        https://www.tradewaltz.com

（*1）「TradeWaltz」is a registered trade mark in Japan of TradeWaltz Inc. Any other names of products, companies, groups, etc., are names and registered trademarks of their own.
（*2）SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It is a model that makes software available for use over the Internet.

Please direct all inquiries regarding this announcement to TradeWaltz Inc.
REP: Someya, Saito
Email：info@tradewaltz.com