Press Release | The Beijing Two Zone Office, IMDA, COFCO, and Yit Hong completed another trade digitalization pilot

Supported by Beijing Two-Zone Office and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority, COFCO and Yit Hong Expand End-to-End Interoperable Trade Digitalization Network by Completing New Pilot

On May 6, 2024, COFCO and its Singapore client Yit Hong completed a new cross-border end-to-end interoperable paperless trade, with Maersk as the carrier. The pilot was supported by the Beijing Municipal Commerce Bureau (Beijing Two-Zone Office) and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), as their first collaborative outcome following the signing of an MOU on International Information Industry and Digital Trade Harbor Cooperation. It will also facilitate COFCO and Yit Hong in expanding their digitalized trade network by onboarding additional partners and pioneering further end-to-end scenarios on a business-as-usual basis.

The shipment from Xiamen, China to Singapore was carried by Maersk and involved COFCO China Processed Food (COFCO CPF, also known as COFCO Industrial Food) exporting a container of canned food to Yit Hong. Maersk issued an electronic Bill of Lading (eBL) on April 25th and accepted its surrender on May 2nd on AEOTradeChain which is supported by IMDA’s TradeTrust framework. AEOTradeChain is a blockchain network developed by Beijing-based firm AEOTrade, serving as the Secretariat of the Beijing TradeTech Alliance, it ensures interoperability across its underlying blockchain technologies, such as ChainMaker and Astron. All trading processes for the sellers and buyers, including contract signings, customs clearances, transfers of eBL title ownership and payments were fully paperless. Transacting parties are given end-to-end track and traceability of the shipment in real time on a single screen.

Trials Paving the Way Towards a Viable Model for Industry to Adopt as a “Business As Usual” Approach for Trade Digitalization

In October 2023, COFCO CPF and Yit Hong completed the first cross-border end-to-end interoperable paperless trade between China and Singapore, involving a TradeTrust-enabled eBL that was issued by Pacific International Lines on the international blockchain network interoperating with AEOTradeChain. Also in August 2023, the first fully paperless interoperable trade finance trial was successfully conducted between Singapore and India, with Maersk as the carrier issuing a TradeTrust-enabled eBL.

The above international groundbreaking trials demonstrate that end-to-end interoperable digitalization of trade can reduce costs and enhance efficiency for all trading parties. It is estimated that COFCO CPF can reduce its business operation costs by over 30% through end-to-end digitalization of their trading processes. As a leading company in the food sector, COFCO could incentivize its trading partners to join the digital trade network through profit-sharing, achieving a win-win situation for all parties on a business-as-usual basis.

Going forward, the Beijing Two-Zone Office and IMDA will continue to collaborate with industry players, actively promote commercial trade digitalization trials, and improve cross-system interoperability and scalability.

This press release was published by Beijing Two-Zone Office.