TradeWalz establishes APAC Representative Office in Singapore as its first overseas base. ～In principle, companies established less than three years ago are not allowed to establish a representative office, but a special exception was made for companies that have been in business for less than three years and have obtained permission to do so.~

TradeWaltz Inc (President and CEO: Hirohisa Kojima), operator of TradeWaltz, a trade information collaboration platform (hereinafter referred to as “Trade PF”), is pleased to announce that it has established an APAC representative office in Singapore as its first overseas base. Although Singapore does not allow the establishment of a representative office for new companies that have been established for less than three years, we were able to establish a representative office in Singapore under a special exception even though we have only been in business for two years and three months.

■ Growing need for overseas use and collaboration of TradeWaltz lead to establishment of APAC representative office　
　As reported in the press release, TradeWaltz is not only expanding the number of users in Japan, but has also started “market research and user acquisition activities” in Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, and other countries, in addition to promoting “trade platform collaboration” projects with Thailand, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand as APEC and ASEAN national projects, and as the Indo-Pacific supply chain resiliency project by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
　In countries with which our platform is linked, we have received comments such as, “More users want to use electronic linkage and need support,” and some overseas traders have asked us if they can use TradeWaltz directly. The depreciation of the yen has also made Japanese SaaS services less expensive from the perspective of foreign countries, and if we can earn revenue overseas, it will be 1.5 times more attractive than before when the yen is converted.
　We have established an APAC representative office in Singapore for the purpose of “strengthening overseas support, exploring overseas profit-earning opportunities, and market research”. Under Singapore regulations, the establishment of a representative office by an overseas company is subject to the condition that three years have passed since its establishment, and TradeWalts, which was established on April 1, 2020 (two years and three months), was not eligible for the establishment.

(Reference) Permission from the Government to Establish – Excerpts

■Young Talent is Selected to Head of Representative Office　
The establishment of this APAC representative office was handled by Koutaro Hayashi (age 27), General Manager of the Alliance Division, in cooperation with the legal department. With high expectations, we have decided to select and dispatch him to the region as the representative office manager as well. After being promoted at an exceptionally fast pace at his previous position at a major foreign-capital SIer, Hayashi switched to a start-up company in search of further growth, and we hope to utilize his energy for the growth of our company. We would like to continue to provide opportunities for people who have changed jobs or joined our company from trading companies, foreign consulting firms, and government ministries and agencies, without regard to age, to help our company grow.

■Comments from stakeholders
Satoru Someya, Managing Director, Head of CEO’s Office and Head of Global & Alliance Business Division, TradeWaltz Inc
‘I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the government of Singapore (Enterprise Singapore) for granting us permission to establish a representative office in APAC. Due to the nature of our trading business, it is essential for us to collaborate and expand our business overseas, and we are happy to have taken the first step in this direction with the support of Singapore. We will continue to think about what we can do and take on new challenges, without being bound by precedent, in order to “create the future of trade”.’

Koutaro Hayashi, General Manager, Alliance Division and APAC Representative Office, TradeWaltz Inc
‘I would like to express my gratitude to the many people who have supported us in establishing this office, and I am very honored to have been selected as the representative office manager. When I traveled to Singapore at the end of last month for a UN-ESCAP event, I felt the great expectations of the local people for TradeWaltz, and I hope to meet those expectations as much as possible. My assignment in Singapore is scheduled to start in early November after attending the Silicon Valley training course (overseas expansion of B2B business) organized by JETRO.’

Overview of TradeWaltz Inc.
Name: TradeWaltz Inc.
Representative: President & CEO Hirohisa Kojima
Location : KASUMIGASEKI BUILDING 36F WORKSTYLING, 3-2-5 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-6036
Established: April 2020
Business description: Provision of the SaaS^(Note) of “TradeWaltz,” a trade-related information-sharing platform using blockchain
Number of Employees: 45 (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.
　　　　　　　 Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation
　　　　　　　 Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

SDG initiatives: Our services mainly promote initiatives on themes 8, 9, 12, 13, 15, and 17.

（Note） An abbreviation for “Software as a Service.” It is a structure where users use necessary software functions via the Internet.
*”TradeWaltz” is the registered trademark of TradeWaltz Inc. in Japan.
*Other product names, company names and organization names are the trademarks or registered trademarks of the respective companies.