Trade and Supply Chain Finance

  • Recommended Actions for Promoting Digital Trade Integration in Kazakhstan

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    This report outlines a National Action Plan designed to enhance Kazakhstan’s digital trade integration within the Asia-Pacific region. Addressing gaps in digital trade policies will foster a more competitive and transparent environment for businesses and investors in Kazakhstan’s digital economy. Using ESCAP’s Regional Digital Trade Integration Index (RDTII) framework and database, this paper identifies priority… Read more

  • Trafigura Leads the Way with a Groundbreaking $2.885 Billion Syndicated Facility Leveraging Electronic Bills of Lading (eBL)

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    In a transformative move for global trade finance, Trafigura, in partnership with ING and 27 other lenders, has successfully executed a $2.885 billion borrowing base facility using electronic Bills of Lading (eBL) as collateral. This pioneering transaction demonstrates the growing influence of digitization in trade finance, supported by the UK’s Electronic Trade Documents Act (ETDA),… Read more

  • Data and Digital Trade

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    The global economy has experienced a rapid growth in digitally facilitated and delivered trade in goods and services. The Government has adopted a “consciously broad” definition of digital trade to reflect this trend. While we understand that trade is increasingly digital, such breadth may be an obstacle to identifying areas for improvement. We suggest that… Read more

  • Driving the Future of Trade Finance: How Digital Standards are Paving the Way for Paperless Trade

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    At Sibos 2024 in Beijing, industry leaders convened to discuss the accelerating digitalisation of global trade. A notable session featured Ben Arber, CEO of Complidata, in conversation with Pamela Mar, Managing Director of the Digital Standards Initiative (DSI) at the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). Their discussion centered on the transition to paperless trade finance… Read more

  • Understanding the EU’s PSD3 Directive and PSR Regulation: Key Changes and Implications

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    The European Commission has introduced two significant legislative proposals: the third Payment Services Directive (PSD3) and the Payment Services Regulation (PSR). These initiatives aim to enhance the European payments market by building upon the foundations of PSD2, striving for greater harmonization and reducing national discrepancies. Objectives of PSD3 and PSR The primary goals of PSD3… Read more

  • UNCITRAL’s Framework for Negotiable Cargo Documents: Modernizing International Trade

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    The UNCITRAL Negotiable Cargo Documents framework is designed to modernize and harmonize the legal rules governing documents used in the transport of goods, particularly in international trade. These documents, commonly known as bills of lading, play a crucial role in shipping by serving as evidence of the contract of carriage, a receipt for the goods,… Read more

  • The Next Era of International Trade Transactions

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    Until the recent drive towards digitalisation and modernisation, the processes involved in an international end-to-end transaction could be long, cumbersome and expensive. From the shipping of goods to the payment of an invoice, the overall transaction would take place through a collection of individual, fragmented and often siloed procedures, from the issuance of paper trade… Read more

  • UK Export Finance’s Impact Framework

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    UKEF’s Impact Framework sets out how the department will measure the real-world impact of its financial support, while aligning with government priorities for growth, clean energy and industrial strategy. Each year, UKEF provides billions of pounds of financial support, helping businesses across the whole of the UK to export. This support is crucial, allowing UK… Read more

  • An Initial Overview of Smart Contract Implementation within Financial Services & Regulatory Solutions for Risk Management

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    This smart contract Primer (referred to henceforth as this “Primer”) provides an initial overview of what smart contracts are, how they are being implemented within financial services and proposes how to apply existing legal and regulatory frameworks to mitigate risks from utilizing such technology. Developed by the members of Global Financial Markets Association (“GFMA”) and… Read more

  • Project Aperta: Enabling Cross-Border Data Portability Through Open Finance Interoperability

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    The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is launching Project Aperta to explore how to reduce frictions and costs in global finance by enabling seamless cross-border data portability. The project aims to connect the domestic open finance infrastructures of different jurisdictions. The initial use case to be explored is in trade finance for small and medium-sized… Read more