Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore September 3-4, 2019#GTRASIA www.gtreview.com
As the world’s leading trade, commodity and export finance publisher and event organiser, GTR offers sponsors and advertisers unrivalled exposure and profiling among their peer and client groups. GTR can offer various appealing options that would strategically and effectively help raise the profile of the partner, and offer a highly effective platform with which to showcase its capabilities and mission.
2 | www.gtreview.com
Sponsorship opportunitiesEd Virtue Director, Global Sales [email protected] +44 (0)20 8772 3008
Speaking opportunitiesJeff Ando Director, Conference Production [email protected] +44 (0)20 8772 3015
Marketing & media opportunitiesElisabeth Spry Marketing Manager [email protected] +44 (0)20 8772 3006
GTR Asia 2019 returned to Singapore on September 3-4, 2019. Recognised as the world’s largest international gathering for the trade, commodity, fintech and treasury community, GTR’s annual event in Singapore welcomed a record-breaking number of almost 1,300 industry participants from local and international banks to multinational corporations and SMEs, independent financiers, commodity brokers and traders, insurers and risk managers, lawyers, consultants, ECAs and multilaterals and more!
Participants had the chance to hear over 100 of the world’s leading trade, treasury and fintech experts reflecting on developments in the Asian market and more globally, whilst also having the chance to network and discuss trade priorities with over 500 different companies. Delegates also benefited from the use of multiple streams with coverage at the event focused on a range of topics and markets. A variety of formats (breakouts, workshops, debates, formal launches, speed-networking) provided excellent opportunities for engagement and knowledge sharing.
“GTR provides great sharing on latest trade solutions and networking amongst industry players.”
S M Jameel, Petronas
“It’s good to have the opportunity to speak with people I am transacting with.”
C R Ocampo, Shell
Once registered, log-in to GTR
Connect to network with
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Official conference hashtag: #GTRASIA
1,123
2018
The wOrld’s largesT inTernaTiOnal gaThering
fOr The Trade, cOmmOdiTy, finTech and
Treasury cOmmuniTy... and grOwing every year!
OVERVIEW
Sectors attended in 2019
8%EUROPEFrance Germany Luxembourg Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey United Kingdom
89%ASIAAustralia, China Hong Kong, India Indonesia, Japan Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Malaysia Philippines Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Taiwan,Tajikistan Thailand, Vietnam
1%MENAPakistan UAE
2019’s vital statistics
1,267Delegates
511Companies
103Speakers
1%AMERICASUnited States
1%AFRICANigeria South Africa
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Cor
pora
tes
& tr
ader
s
Tech
nolo
gy &
fint
ech
Ban
ks &
fina
ncie
rs
Con
sulta
nts
& a
ccou
ntan
ts
Non
-ban
k fin
anci
ers
Insu
rers
& ri
sk m
anag
ers
Gov
t org
s &
pub
lic b
odie
s
Med
ia
Law
yers
Oth
er
52% 11% 10% 6% 6% 4% 3% 3% 2% 3%
Percentage of attendees by region in 2019
Attendee breakdown by job title in 2019
63%
Senior level
10%
Mid-level
27%
C-level
Company size breakdown in 2019
71%
Multinational
15%
Mid
14%
SME
STATISTICS
PLATINUM SPONSORS HOST BANK
GOLD SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
MORNING REGISTRATION SPONSOR LANYARD SPONSOR DELEGATE BAG SPONSOR HOST PARTNER EVENING RECEPTION PARTNER
CO-SPONSORS
Raindew Commodities.
WATER BOTTLE SPONSORLUNCH SPONSOR DAY 1 EXPERT TREASURY PARTNER
4 | www.gtreview.com
SPONSORS & PARTNERS
2019’s conference was supported by
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Corporates & traders
Aastar Trading
ABB Group
Adani Enterprises
Adriot
Agarwal Coal
Agritrade International
Agrocorp International
Airwallex
Alpha Nations
Alzys Global
Ameropa
Anglo American
Apollo Tyres
ArcelorMittal
Archer Daniels Midland
Archipelago Middle East Shipping
Argonaut Resources
Aries Fertilizers Group
ASM Tech
Assar International
AT&S
Atlantic Energy
Atlantic Industrial & Trading
Avani Resources
Avatar Commodities
Awin Resource International
Bangchak Corporation
Barry Callebaut Asia Pacific
BCP Trading
BHP Billiton
Bombardier
BP Oil International
Bunge
BW LPG
C. Steinweg Group
Canwell Commerce
Capstone International HK
Cargill
Caterpillar
ChemChina
Chevron Corporation
China Coal Solutions
CHS Europe
CJ CheilJedang
CM Services
CMA CGM
Coeclerici
Cofco International
Connell Brothers
Continental Corporation
Corporate Fair Trade Community
CRRC Qingdao Sifang
Decathlon
Dell
Deshbandhu Group
Dover Corporation
Dow Chemical Company
Dyson
ECOM Agroindustrial
Enerfo
Engeco
Enigio
ENOC
Equentia Natural Resources
Eu Yan Sang International
Evonik Industries
Exxposures
First Resources
FKS Food & Agri
FMC Agro
Freepoint Commodities
Fusion International
Future Electronics
GA Circular
Gail Global
Gamacorp
Gazprom
Ge Trade
GEA Process Engineering Asia
General Mills
GlaxoSmithKline
Glencore International
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
Glenoble Commodities
Global Asia
Global Satellite Solutions
Global Trade Well
GlobalConnect
Globe International
GM Marketing Solutions
GMR Group
Golden Agri
Gozem
GSSG Holdings
Gulf Petrochem
Gunvor Group
Halcyon Agri
Hankook Tire
Hartee Partners
Hengli Petrochemical International
Hengyi Industries International
Hewlett Packard Asia Pacific
Hilti Far East
Hin Leong Trading
Hitachi
Huawei Technologies
Hyde Energy
Hydro Aluminium
Hydrogen Energy
Hyundai Corporation
IBF Trading
Iconsilium
Idemitsu International
Indian Oil Corporation
Indika Energy
Indorama Polychem
Integra
Invista
Isuzu Motors Asia
Itochu Corporation
IXM
Jaypee Group
JERA Trading Singapore
Josovina Commodities
JSL Manufacturing
JSW International Trade Corporation
Junda
Just Oils & Grains
Kairos Oil Trading
Kempar Energy
Keppel Corporation
Knowledge International Strategy Systems
Kobian
KrisShop
Kulicke and Soffa
Lamar Commodity Trading
Lee Fung International
Lenovo
LG Electronics
Liberty Commodities
Liberty Fe Trade
Lidl Hong Kong
Lidl Singapore
Lobb Heng
Lok Chemicals
Louis Dreyfus Company
Mabanaft
Mac World Industries
Marzuk Agri
Melenco Hong Kong
Mercuria
Mesco Steel
Mewah Oils & Fats
Microsoft Corporation
Mitsubishi Corporation RtM
Mitsui & Co
Monk’s Hill
Mount Vernon Sanctuary
MRI Trading
Musim Mas Group
N H Jhala
National Oilwell Varco (NOV)
Nestlé
New Hope Group
Noble Group
Nokia
Novatek
Ocean Network Express
Olam International
Omni United
Oneconnect
ONGC
Oriental Energy
Oxyde Chemicals Singapore
Pacific International Lines
Panama Renewable Energy
Peter Cremer
PetroEast
Petrolimex
Petron Trading
Petronas
Pfizer Inc
Phillip Commodities
Phillips 66
Phoenix Global
Phoon Huat
Pine Energy
PNX Petroleum Singapore
Posco International
Prax
PTT
PTT International Trading
Quadra Commodities
R1 International
Raffemet
Rail Holdings
RCMA Group
Reliance Industries
Repsol
RGE Group
Rhodium Capital
Rhodium Resources
Rio Tinto
RK Galaxy
Robert Bosch
Roda Enigma
Rohde & Schwarz
RWE Group
Sabic Asia Pacific
Safmarine
Samsung Corporation
SAP
Sealoud Asia
Sembcorp Industries
SEPCO 3
Shell
Shell & Turcas Petrol
Sims Global Commodities
Singapore Cogeneration Steel
Singapore Zhimei
Singer Sourcing
Sino Great Global
Sinochem International
Sizer Metals
SKF
SKS Transnational
Sonangol
ST Engineering Land Systems
Stemcor
Sugih Energy
Sumitomo Chemical Asia
Supreme Components International
Swirecno
Swiss Singapore Overseas Enterprises
Syngenta Agro
Tata Power International
Telf AG
Tex Line Associates
Thales Group
Bangchak Petroleum
Toyota Tsusho Corporation
Trafigura Group
Trafol
Trigon Gulf
Triumph Global
UIL
Unipec
Vale
Valency International Trading
Vikudha Overseas
Virgoz Oils & Fats
Visa Resources
Vital Group
Vitol
Volvo Group
Wilmar International
Wilson International Trading
Winson Oil Bunkering
Xangbo Global Markets
Xinsha International
Yang Ming
Yokogawa Engineering
Zalora
Zhejiang Petroleum
ZTE Corporation
ATTENDEES
Companies who attended this year’s event
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Banks & financiers
Asian Development Bank
Aktif Bank
Bank ABC
Bank Al Habib
Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Bank of Baroda
Barclays
BIDV
BMO Capital Markets
BNP Paribas
BNY Mellon
China CITIC Bank
Citi
Commerzbank
Commonwealth Trade Bank
Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank
Credit Suisse
DBS Bank
Deutsche Bank
Dutch-Bangla Bank
Emirates NBD
Euro Exim Bank
Federal Bank
First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)
GarantiBank International
Goldman Sachs
HSBC
ICICI Bank
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Intesa Sanpaolo
J.P. Morgan
Lloyds Bank
Macquarie Bank
Mastercard
Mizuho Bank
MUFG
National Australia Bank (NAB)
Natixis
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC)
Rabobank
RHB Banking Group
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC)
Société Générale
Standard Chartered
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
UniCredit
United Overseas Bank (UOB)
VISA
Wells Fargo
Westpac Banking Corporation
Non-bank financiers
Africa Merchant Capital
Cornerpiece Capital Partners
Culum Capital
Dow Jones
EFA Group
eFundSME Global
ExWorks Capital
Falcon Group
First Data Corporation
FirstCred Advisory
Fund Genesis
GE Capital
Global Trade Capital
GTR Ventures
iLoan Lanka
Incomlend
Joy Rich Ventures Limited
Lyra Capital
Maersk
Nuevo Asia Advisors
Nufund
Nuphi Credit
Orbitt
PTT Regional Treasury Centre
Riqueza Capital Group
SC Finance
SME Capital Holdings
Stenn International
Swan River Capital
Trade Finance Market
Tradewind Finance
Turako
Ventura Incorporated
Vivantaa Capital
Woodsford Trade Bridge
Technology & fintech
Accuity
Amplifier Lab
Asia Inovasi Teknologi
Bolero International
Buckman Laboratories
CarbonChain
China Systems
Coriolis Technologies
Cranium Ventures Limited
CrimsonLogic
Crypto BLK
DLT Ledgers
EffiaSoft
Flowcast
Future Labs
Hevea Connect
HPD LendScape
IQSQ
Kyriba
LiqEase
LiquidX
Lucidity Digital
MIT Micro Informatique & Technologies
Mitigram
Nufin Data
Obillex
PanXora
Pole Star
Polish Investment & Trade Agency
Premium Technology
Q&X Credit
R3 CEV
Razer
Samsung C&T Corporation
Schaeffler Group
SGInnovate
SourceSage
Stripe
Swift
Tallyx Inc
Tata Consultancy Services
Tech Data Corporation
Techstars
Tinubu Square
TradeAssets
TradeIX
TradeSun
Tradeteq
Traydstream
Trizon Technologies
Verifone
Worldpay
Consultants & accountants
Accenture
Afton Chemical
Andreia Capital
ASB
Atkins
Blockdoc
Certis International
CLC Holdings
Coinmen Capital
Deloitte Consulting
DLTAYLOR Consulting
ECODIT LLC
FutureMap
Hakuhodo Singapore
Hans Advisory & Trust
Hartree Partners
Ideas and Action
JTB
JV Bridge
Kernmantle
Lloyd's List Intelligence
Metabolic Asia
Nuevo Asia Capital
PRETB
PT Lahan Anugrah Sampurna
Publicis
Reefknot Investments
Resfeber International
Robust International
Sim Global Education
Trade Risk Consulting
Trade Window
Unicoin
VinaCapital
Zuellig
ATTENDEES
Companies who attended this year’s event
7 | www.gtreview.com
Insurers & risk managers
Aon
Argenta Hold ings
Atradius
AU Group
AXA XL
BPL Global
Chubb Global Markets
Coface
Control Risks Group Holdings
Ed Broking
Gallagher
Lancashire Insurance Group
Liberty Global
Liberty International Underwriters
Liberty Specialty Markets
Marsh JLT Specialty
NCI Brokers
PIB Insurance Brokers
RKH Specialty
Sompo International
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
Tokio Marine Kiln Singapore
Willis Towers Watson
Zurich Credit & Political RiskLawyers
ABNR
Ashurst
Baker McKenzie
Bird & Bird
Covington & Burling
Francis Wilks & Jones
Herbert Smith Freehills
Jincheng Tongda & Neal
Reed Smith
Simmons & Simmons
Stephenson Harwood
Media
Dentsu Aegis Network
GTR
Haymarket
Helix Media
ICIS
Informa
Jack Morton Worldwide
Mediacorp
NHK
Photo Me International
South 32 Marketing
The Economist
Thomson Reuters
Video & Photo Service
Yogofi
Govt orgs & public bodies
Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)
BAFT
CASA-1000 Power Project
Enterprise Singapore
FCI
Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA)
ICC Banking Commission
Investment & Development Agency of Latvia
Labuan IBFC
Ministry of Trade & Industry
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
Networked Trade Platform (NTP)
Singapore Customs
Singapore Exchange
UK Trade & Investment
World Trade Organization (WTO)Other
Credit Industriel Et Commercial (CIC)
CYS Global Remit
Export Development Canada (EDC)
GC Marketing Solutions
ICC Academy
The London Institute of Banking & Finance
UK Export Finance (UKEF)
University of Western Cape
“Excellent event for networking for trade industrial players.”
W Siewleok, Intesa Sanpaolo
“It was a great conference and it gets better and better every year.”
P Sonal, Société Generale
“The conference was excellent and a great success.”
K Hartwell, Africa Merchant Capital
ATTENDEES
Companies who attended this year’s event
8 | www.gtreview.com
●● Amit Agarwal, Executive Director & Head of Open Account Trade Products, Global Transaction Services, DBS
●● Marc Allen, Technical Director, engeco
●● Denise Ang, Managing Director, Nufin Data (Singapore)
●● Samuel Ang, Head of Credit & Trade Finance, Global Head of Credit, LNG & Shipping, Shell
●● Edmund Arghand, Senior Underwriter, Political & Credit Risk, Zurich
●● Stuart Ashworth, Managing Director, Financial Solutions, Asia Pacific, Willis Towers Watson
●● Marc Auboin, Counsellor, Economic Research & Statistics Division, World Trade Organisation (WTO)
●● Azeem Azmi, Vice-President, Enterprise Development, MasterCard
●● Theodoor Bakker, Senior Foreign Counsel, ABNR
●● Steven Beck, Head of Trade and Supply Chain Finance, Asian Development Bank
●● Nils Behling, Founder & CFO, Tradeteq
●● Chris Box, Director, Infrastructure Finance & Economics, Atkins Acuity
●● Graham Bright, Head of Compliance & Operations, Euro Exim Bank
●● Tod Burwell, President & Chief Executive Officer, BAFT
●● Carlos Casanova, Economist, Asia Pacific, Coface
●● Bhaskar Chattoraj, Senior Specialist, Cyber Risk & Control Governance APAC, Aon
●● Christina Chua, Divisional Director, Credit & Political Risks, Gallagher
●● Glynn Cooper, Partner, Herbert Smith Freehills
●● Lakshan Da Silva, CEO, iLoan (Sri Lanka)
●● Jolyon Ellwood-Russell, Partner, Financial Markets, Simmons & Simmons
●● Michael Every, Head of Financial Markets Research, Asia-Pacific, Rabobank
●● Kai Fehr, Global Head, International Trade Services, Wells Fargo
●● Samuel Fong, Chief Operating Officer, Agritrade International
●● Carlos Gonzalez Florenzano, Executive Director & Fund Manager, Global Trade Finance Fund, Lyra Capital
●● Rohit Goyal, Managing Director, APAC, LiquidX
●● Bharat Gupta, Regional Head of Trade & Structured Finance, Asia, Middle East & Africa, Olam International
●● Rebecca Harding, Chief Executive Officer, Coriolis Technologies; Author, ‘The Weaponization of Trade’
●● Malini Hariharan, Head of South Asia Markets, ICIS
●● Adam Hearne, CEO & Co-Founder, CarbonChain (UK)
●● Andras Hodi, Regional Treasury & Structured Finance APJ, Nokia
●● Klaus Houben, Chief Representative, South East Asia, EDC
●● Gerald Huang, Chief Sales Officer, Premium Technology
●● Nitin Jain, Head of Treasury & Capital Markets, Agrocorp International
●● Ujjwal Jain, Head of Trade, Singapore, Executive Director, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered
●● Vishal Kapoor, Managing Director, Asia Trade Head, Citi
●● Munish Kaushal, Area Finance Director & CFO, GSK Southeast Asia
●● Parag Khanna, Founder & Managing Partner, FutureMap; Global Strategy Advisor & Author, ‘The Future is Asian’
●● Harsh Khurana, CEO, Obillex (UK)
●● Kim Kit Ow, Partner, Bird & Bird
●● Dimitri Kouchnirenko, Founding Partner, Incomlend; Co-Founder, LC Lite
●● Puja Kumar, Director, Head of Trade Risk Distribution APAC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
●● Agatha Lee, Head of Global Trade & Loan Products, Asia Pacific, J.P. Morgan
●● Linan Liu, Managing Director & Greater China FIC/Asia Rates Strategist, Deutsche Bank
●● Lawrence Loh, Managing Director & Group Head of Business Banking, UOB
●● Ricard Marzo, Venture Analyst, Amplifier
●● Peter Matza, Speakers’ Chair, Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)
●● Lisa McAuley, Chief Executive Officer, Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA)
●● Tolentino Mendonca, Managing Director, Regional Head of Trade Finance, Asia-Pacific, Credit Agricole CIB
●● Vinay Mendonca, Global Head of Product & Proposition, Trade & Receivables Finance, HSBC
●● Jayant Menon, Lead Economist, Asian Development Bank
●● Jian Min Sim, CEO, SourceSage (Singapore)
●● Mohanavelu Muthukrishnan, Vice-President & Regional Head of Trade Product & Portfolio, Treasury Services, BNY Mellon
SPEAKERS
2019’s speakers included
9 | www.gtreview.com
●● Sriram Muthukrishnan, Managing Director & Group Head of Trade Product Management, Global Transaction Services, DBS
●● Nitin Navandher, Group Finance Controller, Phoenix Global
●● Jasmine Ng, CEO, Razer Fintech
●● Jun Nitta, Co-Head, Financial Institutions Group Funds, IFC Asset Management Company
●● Vincent O’Brien, Member, Executive Committee, ICC Banking Commission
●● Peter Ong, Chairman, Enterprise Singapore
●● Chris Pardey, Director, RCMA Group & Kincol Pte
●● Soo Peng Lee, Treasurer, Novatek Gas & Power Asia
●● Jérôme Pezé, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Tinubu Square
●● James Ponsford, Regional Director & Growth Leader, Credit Solutions Asia, Aon
●● Sonal Priyanka, Regional Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance, Société Générale
●● Bart Raemaekers, Advisor, PSOD & Head, Guarantees & Syndications Unit, Asian Development Bank (ADB)
●● Andrew Rigden Green, Partner, Stephenson Harwood
●● Simon Ring, Global Head of Financial Markets Compliance, Pole Star
●● Jordane Rollin, Global Head of Digital Transformation, Trade Finance, Standard Chartered
●● Henry Roxas, Global Head of Trade Finance, R3
●● Sumit Roy, Founder, President & CMO, TradeAssets
●● Jin Saibo, Partner, Jincheng Tongda & Neal
●● Saket Sarda, Head of Trade-Asean & South Asia, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered
●● Chris Sawyer, Manager, Financial Risk Solutions, Asia Pacific, Liberty International Underwriters
●● Roheet Shah, COO & Co-Founder, CarbonChain (UK)
●● Ajay Sharma, Regional Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance, Asia Pacific, HSBC
●● Sanman Shetty, Head, Trade & Supply Chain Finance Sales, Transaction Banking Office for Asia, MUFG
●● Soumen Sircar, Head of Business Solutions Asia Pacific, Visa
●● Larry Sloven, President, Capstone International HK
●● Ken So, CEO & Founder, Flowcast (Singapore)
●● Kaushalya Somasundaram, Consultant and leading fintech expert
●● Serene Soo, Regional Director, Political Risk & Structured Credit, Asia, Marsh JLT Specialty
●● Timothy Stratford, Managing Partner, Covington & Burling; Former Assistant US Trade Representative
●● Ashwin Subramaniam, Chief Executive Officer, GA Circular
●● David Sutter, Chief Strategy Officer, TradeIX/Marco Polo
●● Florence Tan, Country Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance, China, HSBC
●● Louise Taylor-Digby, Head of Trade Markets, Asia Pacific, Swift
●● Claire Thompson, Executive Vice-President, Enterprise Partnerships, Mastercard
●● Seng Ti Goh, General Manager, Finance & Administration, Isuzu Motors Asia; President, ACT Singapore
●● Sanjay Tiwari, Head of Implementation, Maersk Trade Finance
●● Mark Troutman, Managing Director & Group Head of Sales, Global Transaction Services, DBS
●● Raj Uttamchandani, Executive Director, Trade Finance Market
●● Hareld van den Brink, Director, Metabolic Asia
●● Anupam Verma, Chief Executive, ICICI Bank Singapore
●● Ingrid Verschuren, Deputy Head of Professional Information Business & Senior Vice-President, Data Strategy, Dow Jones
●● Claudia Villasis-Wallraff, Manager, Commercial Treasury, Operations & Risk Excellence, Rio Tinto; Ambassador Singapore, Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)
●● Hui Wang, CEO & Co-Founder, QNX Credit (China)
●● Steve Wilford, Senior Partner, Asia Pacific, Control Risks
●● Duncan Wong, CEO & Founder, CryptoBLK
●● Jean Woo, Partner, Ashurst
●● Eleanor Wragg, Senior Reporter, Global Trade Review (GTR)
●● Victor Yankovsky, Managing Director, Business Development, Stenn International
●● Wai Yee Choo, Deputy Director, Networked Trade Platform (NTP)
●● Yvonne Zhang, Head of Product & Partnerships, Hevea Connect
●● Burkhard Ziegenhorn, Managing Director & Head of Global Transaction Banking, ASEAN, Deutsche Bank
“Singapore GTR 2019 was an awesome event with a record turnout evidencing the efficient
management by the team. All the best for continued success around the globe.”
N Jain, Agrocorp International
SPEAKERS
2019’s speakers included
10 | www.gtreview.com
EVENT REPORT
GTR Asia 2019 – This year’s report card
2019’s GTR Asia gathering once again provided the premier opportunity for Asia’s trade finance market to convene and discuss the latest priorities for global trade, welcoming (you guessed it) a record turnout of corporates, traders, financiers, fintechs and other industry experts on the event’s 10-year anniversary.
But in a world dominated by trade wars and tradetech, what is there new to report?
1. American protectionism is nothing new
After a hugely positive and supportive address from Peter Ong, CEO of Enterprise Singapore (thanks to our partners at ES for this), the conference really got going with a fantastically entertaining opening presentation from Michael Every, Head of Financial Markets Research, Asia Pacific for Rabobank, the key message being that the US has always been a supporter of tariffs, from early leaders including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and Abraham Lincoln. For all Donald Trump’s unconventional approach to diplomacy, American scepticism towards free trade should come as nothing new.
2. Free trade across Asia isn’t easy either
Along with various presentations, panel discussions and breakout groups, this year also saw a number of debates take place, the first of which considered the prospects for free trade in the ASEAN community and the prospects for the CPTPP against the backdrop of various tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Going somewhat against the grain in the view that all businesspeople are optimists, a special audience poll concluded that much more needs to be done if free trade is to thrive in the current climate.
3. Supply chain friction - the truth behind the speculation
Once again the event benefitted from the insights of Dr Rebecca Harding, CEO of Coriolis Technologies and author of ‘The Weapononization of Trade’, who sought to shed light on the implications of current global friction for regional and global supply chains. So what is the truth? It seems that exports have underperformed across Asia since 2017, whilst Vietnam has benefitted in a way that Bangladesh has failed to. Transparency in ASEAN continues to be an issue, whilst opportunities outside ASEAN continue to grow. Meanwhile technology has been billed as a solution, but is also seen by many as part of the problem!
4. The time is now when it comes to tech
It will surprise no one to learn that once again technology and the role of digitalisation played a central role in the discussions taking place throughout the course of the 2 days, from a series of use group breakouts on blockchain consortia to discussions around how technology can play an increased role in trade asset distribution, the relationship between fintechs and banks (best of ‘frenemies’?) and how various solutions and offerings can benefit the traditional trade finance market in challenging times. This was teed up by a high-powered discussion from trade leaders on the opening morning which concluded that time was up for pilots and talk of potential and that people needed to start delivering.
5. Conferences can be fun!
This year’s event sought to find some light amidst the gloom, with an upbeat and enthusiastic audience happy to take part in a number of lively and engaging sessions, from the return of the GTR Ventures Tradetech Showcase Competition to the special fishbowl session format, which saw speakers presenting and discussing from what looked a bit like a boxing ring! A special artwall drawn by our skilled team of illustrators sought to capture the essence of proceedings, whilst our Day 2 conference chairman Vincent O’Brien brought the house down as host of our special GTR Quiz, which pitted 2 teams of ‘experts’ on a range of humorous topics and issues.
When combined with the unrivalled networking opportunities of nearly 1,300 experts in the one venue I think we can confidently conclude it was another good year.
We’re looking forward to the next one already!
“For all Donald Trump’s unconventional approach to diplomacy, American scepticism towards free trade
should come as nothing new.”
PRESS RELEASE
11 | www.gtreview.com
2. Asia is bucking the trend away
from globalisation… or is it?
3. Mind the
(trade finance) gap
4. Digitisation: is everyone on board?
THAT’S A WRAP!
Post-conference report: Top takeaways from GTR Asia 2019
GTR Asia returned to Singapore on September 3-4, 2019, reflecting on a momentous year for global trade and developments in the Asian market. Bringing together almost 1,300 participants – a new record – the event saw players from local and international banks to multinational corporations and SMEs, independent financiers, commodity brokers and traders, insurers and risk managers, lawyers, consultants, ECAs and multilaterals, join to discuss a wide range of topics, from the impacts on Asia of the China-US trade war to the outlook for intra-regional trade, and the perennial hot topic of digitisation. In this post-conference wrap-up, we bring together some of the main takeaways and key insights
1. The trade war
and geopolitical uncertainty are keeping
everyone up at night, but optimism
remains
P O S T - C O N F E R E N C E R E P O R T F R O M
Read the full report
PRESS RELEASE
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