Singapore's DB Bank is teaming up with commodities trading house Trafigura to develop an open-sourced blockchain trade platform.
The pair, working with Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Enterprise Singapore and tradetech Perlin, are building the ICC TradeFlow platform to connect trade partners across borders and streamline manual paper-based trade processes.
Built on IMDA’s TradeTrust network infrastructure and powered by Perlin’s blockchain technology, the platform will get its first workout later this month, with a pilot trade of US$20 million worth of iron ore that will be shipped from Africa to China.
The technology will be interoperable with other digital trade platforms, enabling companies based in digital harbours like Singapore to continue seamlessly trading with countries governed by traditional paper-based systems.
The partners claims that, because all parties on the blockchain platform can send, receive and act upon instructions in real-time, the end-to-end trade document transit time will be slashed from 45 to 20 days.
Tan Su Shan, head, institutional banking, DBS, says: "By tapping into each other’s respective expertise in commodities and finance, our customers will be able to receive their goods at least 50% faster with much less paperwork. Solutions like these are timely as they meet our customers’ demands for increased transaction speed and optimised financing to promote better cash flow and capital management.”