INSIDE EXCLUSIVE:

GTR Asia 2018 distilled in six

points

Singapore | Marina Bay Sands September 4-7, 2018

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.

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Sponsorship opportunitiesEd Virtue Director, Global Sales evirtue@gtreview.com +44 (0)20 8772 3008

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Marketing & media opportunitiesElisabeth Spry Marketing Manager espry@gtreview.com +44 (0)20 8772 3006

GTR’s Asia Trade & Treasury Week returned to Singapore on September 4-7, 2018, reflecting on a momentous year for global trade and developments in the Asian market. Welcoming a record-breaking total of over 1,100 delegates, the event reaffirmed its status as the largest international gathering for the trade, commodity, fintech and treasury markets.

Benefitting from the use of multiple streams, coverage at the event focused on a range of topics and markets, whilst a variety of formats (breakouts, workshops, debates, formal launches, speed-networking) provided excellent opportunities for engagement and knowledge sharing with a number of exciting new market entrants. Perhaps the culmination of this was our Day 2 Tradetech Showcase Competition, held in partnership with GTR Ventures. Congratulations to AgriDigital, the successful winner of this year’s competition!

“Great networking & trade finance event amongst leading industry experts. It provided a quick update on innovative trade solutions.”

S Jameel, Petronas

“A great opportunity to connect with delegates and hear the latest trade and trade technology developments.”

J Ellwood-Russell, Simmons and Simmons

Once registered, log-in to GTR

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Official conference hashtag: #GTRATTW

Overviewwww.gtreview.com

7%EUROPEFrance Germany Netherlands Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom

12%REST OF ASIA

Australia Bangladesh China, Hong Kong India, Indonesia Japan, Malaysia Mongolia New Zealand Philippines South Korea Sri Lanka, Taiwan Thailand Vietnam

4%REST OF WORLDSouth AfricaBrazil British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands United StatesEgyptMauritiusPakistanQatarUnited Arab Emirates

77%SINGAPORE

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Percentage of attendees by region in 2018

Attendee breakdown by job title in 2018

80%

Senior level

3%

Mid-level

17%

C-level

2018’s vital statistics

1,123Delegates

470Companies

105Speakers

Sectors attended in 2018

Cor

pora

tes

& tr

ader

s

Ban

ks &

fina

ncie

rs

Tech

nolo

gy &

fint

ech

Insu

rers

& ri

sk m

anag

ers

Non

-ban

k fin

anci

ers

Con

sulta

nts

& a

ccou

ntan

ts

Gov

t org

s &

pub

lic b

odie

s

Law

yers

Med

ia

EC

As

& m

ultil

ater

als

Oth

er

54% 12% 7% 6% 5% 4% 4% 2% 2% 1% 3%

Company size breakdown in 2018

63%Multinational

21%Mid

16%SME

Statisticswww.gtreview.com

Trade Finance

PLATINUM SPONSORS

GOLD SPONSORS

SILVER SPONSORS

CO-SPONSORS

E C O N O M I C L A W SP R A C T I C E ADVOCATES & SOLICITORS

E L P

MORNING REGISTRATION SPONSOR

HOST BANK

DELEGATE BAG SPONSOR LANYARD SPONSOR

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Sponsors & partnerswww.gtreview.com2018’s conference was supported by

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Corporates & traders

AAK AB

ABB Group

Adani Enterprises

Adriot

Agridigital

Agritrade International

Agrocorp International

Alere

ALPS

Alstom

Ameropa

Anglo American

Apeiron Agrocommodities

Apollo Tyres

Aquifer Institute

Arcadia

ArcelorMittal

Archer Daniels Midland

Archroma

Aries Fertilizers Group

Ascon Group

Asia & Africa General Trading

Atlantic Industrial & Trading

Atlantic Resource Trading

Avani Resources

Awin Resource International

Bangchak Corporation Public Company

Baosteel Group

BCP Trading

BHP Billiton

Bosch

BP

Bunge

Business Aggregate

C. Steinweg Group

Canwell Commerce

Cargill

Caterpillar Inc

CEMCOA Energy

CEVA Logistics

CHS

Citic Commodities

City Developments Singapore

CJ Cheil Jedang

Clarins

CMA CGM

Coeclerici

Cofco

Commscope Solutions Singapore

Complete Intelligence

Connell Brothers

Culum Capital

D&L Industries

Daimler

Danone

DB Schenker

Decathlon

Dell

Delta Neutral

Denare

Dover Corporation

Dyson

ECOM Agroindustrial

Enerfo

Engelhart Commodities Trading Partners

ENOC

Equentia Natural Resources

Export Trading Group (ETG)

Farzana Trading

First Resources Limited

FMC Agro

Fortex International

Freepoint Commodities

Friesland Campina

Fullerton Health

Gail Global

Gamacorp

Gazprom

General Electric (GE)

General Mills

Giti

GKE Metal Logistic

GlaxoSmithKline

Glencore International

Global Asia Commodity

Global Trade Well

Gold Vintage International

Golden Agri Resources

Goodyear Orient Company

Goodyear Singapore Tyres

Gulf Petrochem

Gunvor Group

Haier

Halcyon Agri

Hankook Tire

Harley Davidson

Helm

Hewlett Packard Asia Pacific

Hongrun International Energy

Huawei Technologies

Hydro Aluminium

Hydrogen Energy

Hyundai Corporation

Indian Oil Corporation

Indorama Polychem

Integra

Intel Corporation

Inter-Continental Oil and Fats

Interflour Group

Invista

Invivo Group Asia

Isuzu Motors Asia

ITG Recources

Itochu Corporation

Jaguar Steel & Coal

Jaypee Group

JBR Online Singapore

JERA Trading Singapore

Jiangtong International

Jiusan Group

JSW International Trade Corporation

Just Oils & Grains

KCTex International

Kellogg Asia Pacific

Keppel Corporation

Knowledge International Strategy Systems

Kobian

KTC Group Holdings

Lenovo

LG Electronics

Liberty Commodities

Lidl Hong Kong

Linde Group

Lixil International

Lobb Heng

Longview Resources

Lotte Chemical Titan

Louis Dreyfus Commodities

LUKOIL

Mabanaft

Mac World Industries

Maersk Group

Marubeni Asean

Matrix Bharat

Mercancia Continental DMCC

Mercuria Energy Group

Mesco Steel

Mewah Oils & Fats

Mitsui & Co

Mosaic

MRI Trading

Muntajat

Musim Mas Group

Navitas Resources

Nestlé

Nokia

Novatek

Ocean Network Express

Oil India International

Olam International

Omni United

ONGC

Oracle

OSIM International

Oxyde Chemicals Singapore

Pacific Rim Group

Parthnon Derivatives

Pepperl+Fuchs

Peter Cremer

Petrochemical Corporation of Singapore

PetroEast

Petrolimex

Phillips 66

Phoenix Global

Phoenix Petroleum Philippines

Phosagro

PNX Petroleum Singapore

Posco Daewoo

Prax Pte

PRETB

PTT International Trading

Quadra Commodities

Raffemet

RCMA Group

Reliance Industries

Repsol

Resfeber International

RGE Group

Rhodium Resources

Rice Exchange

Rio Tinto

RK Galaxy

Robert Bosch

Roda Enigma

Rohde & Schwarz

RWE Group

Sabic Asia Pacific

Safmarine

Samsung Corporation

Sanofi

Scheider Electrics

Schenker Asia Pacific

Scoot

Sembcorp Industries

SG Global Enterprise

SGP Singapore

Shell

Shell & Turcas Petrol (STA)

Shilla Travel Retail

Sinochem International

Sinopec International

SKF

Sojitz

Soleum Enegry

South32

Stemcor

Sumifru

Sumitomo Chemical Asia

Syngenta Agro

T S Global Holdings

Taas India

Tai Chong Cheang Group (TCC Group)

Tata Steel

Terumo Asia Holdings

Tex Line Associates

The Bangchak Petroleum Co

Total Gas & Power

Toyota Tsusho Corporation

Trafigura Group

UIL

Unipec

UPM - Kymmene Corporation

UPS

US Saray Banks & Ships Owners

Vale

Valency International Trading

Vankor India

Verifone

Verizon Communications Inc.

Viant Commodities

Virgoz Oils & Fats

Visa Resources

Vital Solutions

Vitol

Volvo Group

Welcome Trading

West Pharmaceutical Services

Wilmar International

Wilson International Trading

Window Seat Group

World Fuel Services

Xangbo Global Markets

Xinglong Grains & Oils

Zagro Asia Limited

Attendees www.gtreview.com1,123 delegates attended 2018’s conference representing the following companies

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Banks & financiers

ABN AMRO Bank

Asian Development Bank

Bank ABC

Bank Asia

Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Bank of China

Barclays

BMO Capital Markets

BNY Mellon

China CITIC Bank

CIMB Group

Citi

Commerzbank

Credit Agricole Corporate & Investment Bank

CYS Global Remit

DBS Bank

Deutsche Bank

Eastern Bank

Emirates NBD

Euro Exim Bank

Export-Import Bank of Malaysia

First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB)

Golomt Bank

Habib Metropolitan Bank

HSBC

ICICI Bank

iLoan Lanka

Incomlend

Intesa Sanpaolo

J.P. Morgan

Keyfincorp

KfW IPEX Bank

Lloyds Bank

Macquarie Bank

Mastercard

Maybank

MCB

Mizuho Bank

MUFG

Mutual Trust Bank

NAB

OCBC Bank

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC)

Prime Bank

Rabobank

RHB Banking Group

Saigon-Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB)

Santander

SEB

Société Générale

Standard Chartered

Trade & Development Bank of Mongolia (TDB)

UniCredit

United Overseas Bank (UOB)

Vietnam Eximbank

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company

Westpac Banking Corporation

Zuercher Kantonalbank

Consultants & accountants

Aasatr

Accenture

Atlantic Directors

Azzana Consulting

Centennial Asia Advisors

Certis International

CM Services

Complete Intelligence

CRIF

GBRW Expert Witness Limited

Grass Roots Advisors

Hartree Partners

IHS Markit

Kernmantle

Latour Commodities Advisory

Nuevo Asia Capital

Opus Advisory Services International

Rembrook Holdings

S&P Global Market Intelligence

Trade Advisory Network

Omniscient Software

Open Trade Documents

Sameer Mittal & Associates

SpEX Asia

Straits

Trade Advisory Network

Workflow Solutions

Insurers & risk managers

AIG

Aon

Argenta Hold ings

Ark Syndicate Management

Arthur J. Gallagher

Asia Capital Reinsurance Group

AXA

BPL Global

Canopius

Chaucer Syndicates

Chubb Global Markets

Coface

EDGE Group Brokers

Euler Hermes

Global Collateral Control (GCC)

Ironshore

JLT Specialty

Lancashire Insurance Group

Liberty International Underwriters

Liberty Mutual Insurance

Marsh

MS Amlin

MST Insurance Services

MST Singapore

Munich Re

RKH Specialty

Seabury Trade Finance

Swiss Re Corporate Solutions

Tokio Marine Kiln Singapore

Willis Towers Watson

Zurich Credit & Political Risk

Willis Towers Watson

XL Catlin

Zurich Credit & Political Risk

Govt orgs & public bodies

Africa South East Asia Chamber of Commerce

African Agri Council

Asia Business Trade Association

Asian Trade Centre

Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)

Austrian Embassy

Enterprise Singapore

Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA)

Hong Kong Internet Finance Association (HKIFA)

International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

ICC Banking Commission

Ministry of Development Strategies and International Trade (MODSIT)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monetary Authority of Singapore

Polish Investment & Trade Agency

PTT Public Company

Singapore Customs

Singapore Tourism Board

The French Chamber of Commerce in Singapore (FCCS)

UK Trade & Investment

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Media

BBC

Deal Street Asia

GTR

JCDecaux Asia

PR Newswire

South 32 Marketing

Thomson Reuters

Technology & fintech

Arkratos

Bolero International

Celera

China Systems

Cisco Systems

Cryptoprofile

Culum Capital

Delio

eFundSME Global

ELCY

Enerfo

EZY Corporation

Global Trade Corporation

HPD Software

Lucidity Digital

MIT Micro Informatique & Technologies

Mitigram

Novamondo Finance Limited

Pelican

Pole Star

Premium Technology

R3 CEV

Rackspace

Redington Distribution

RMS Credit

RM-Tech

Seagate Technology

Sunway Group

Swift

Syngco

Taulia

Tech Data Corporation

Tinubu Square

TradeAssets

TradeIX

Tradeteq

Non-bank financiers

101 Capital

Caravel Capital

Convergence Capital Group

EFA Group

ExWorks Capital

Falcon Group

GE Capital

Genting Singapore

Greensill Capital (UK) Limited

GTR Ventures

KK Fund

NR Capital

Nuevo Asia Advisors

Orbitt Capital

Prime Investrade

Riqueza Capital Group

SABIC Capital

Stenn International

Swan River Capital

TCG Capital

Trade Finance Market

Wilben Trade

Lawyers

Adonis-Roberts Consultancy & Law

Bird & Bird ATMD

Clifford Chance

Clyde & Co LLP

DLA Piper

Economic Laws Practice

HFW

Reed Smith

RPC Premier Law

Shook Lin & Bok

Simmons & Simmons

Other

Fosun RZ Capital SEA

ICC Academy

IIBLP

NUS Business School

Puissant International

Techstars

The London Institute of Banking & Finance

World CSR Day

Attendees www.gtreview.com1,123 delegates attended 2018’s conference representing the following companies

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●● Syed Hasnain Haider Rizvi, Head of Compliance, Habib Metropolitan Bank Pakistan

●● Cheam Hing Lee, Chief Executive Officer, Rhodium Group

●● Serene Ho, Director, National Trade Platform Office (NTPO), Singapore Customs

●● Mark Houghton, Regional Manager, Asia Pacific, Political Risk & Trade Credit Insurance, XL Catlin

●● Gerald Huang, Senior Vice-President, Global Relationship Executive, Premium Technology/

●● Inwha Huh, Global Head of Structured Trade Solutions, HSBC

●● Janet Hyde, Investment Specialist, Trade Finance Program, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

●● Atul Jain, Head of Trade Finance & Trade Flow, Deutsche Bank

●● Tom James, Chief Executive Officer, NR Capital

●● Xavier Jean, CFA, Senior Director, Corporate Ratings, S&P Global Ratings

●● Munish Kaushal, Area Finance Director, South East Asia, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare

●● John Khaw, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Lucidity

●● Willem Klaassens, CEO & Executive Consultant, Latour Commodities Advisory

●● Dimitri Kouchnirenko, Founder, Incomlend

●● Puja Kumar, Director, Head of Trade Risk Distribution APAC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

●● Rakshith Kundha, Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance, South East Asia & India, Bank of America Merrill Lynch

●● Stanley Kwok, Senior Vice-President, Chief Administrative Officer, International Trade Services, Asia Pacific, Wells Fargo

●● Tony Lam, General Manager, Finance & Treasury Division, Tai Chong Cheang Steamship Co.

●● Gergely Abraham, Regional Treasury & Structured Finance, Asia, Nokia

●● Amit Agarwal, Head of Open Account Trade Products, Global Transaction Services, DBS

●● Chris Ash, Managing Director, ExWorks Capital

●● Marc Auboin, Counsellor, Economic Research & Statistics Division, World Trade Organization (WTO)

●● Azeem Azmi, Vice-President, Enterprise Development, MasterCard

●● Steven Beck, Head of Trade & Supply Chain Finance, Asian Development Bank

●● Finbarr Bermingham, Asia Editor, Global Trade Review (GTR)

●● Manu Bhaskaran, Director of Policy Advisory, Centennial Group International

●● Natalie Blyth, Global Head of Global Trade & Receivables Finance, HSBC

●● Graham Bright, Head of Compliance & Operations, Euro Exim

●● Eugene Buckley, Business Development Asia Pacific, TradeIX

●● John Bugeja, Managing Director, Trade Advisory Network (TAN)

●● Alex Capri, Senior Fellow, NUS Business School

●● Ginnie Chin, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Culum Capital

●● Ashish Chopra, Vice-President, Arkratos

●● Joshua Cohen, Managing Director, Financial Institutions, Mitigram

●● Robert Cooper, Regional Director, Credit, Political & Security Risks, Asia, JLT Specialty

●● Paul Davidson, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Financial Solutions, Willis Towers Watson

“Ample opportunities to network and meet with the Who’s-Who of international trade!”

V Sharma, Wells Fargo

●● Sanjay Desai, Senior Director, Verifone

●● Francois Dotta, Chief Executive Officer, EFA Group

●● Jolyon Ellwood-Russell, Partner, Simmons & Simmons

●● Deborah Elms, Executive Director, Asian Trade Centre; Vice-Chair, Asia Business Trade Association (ABTA); Senior Fellow, Singapore Ministry of Trade & Industry

●● Kai Fehr, Head of Trade, Asia Pacific, International Trade Services, Wells Fargo

●● Samuel Fong, Chief Operating Officer, Agritrade International

●● Holger Frank, Head of FIG & GTB, Asia Pacific Region, UniCredit Bank

●● Eugene Ganchev, Head of Trade & Commodity Finance, Asia Pacific, ABN AMRO

●● Paul Gardner, Global Head of Structured Commodity Finance, Westpac Banking Corporation

●● Huny Garg, Global Head of Trade & Supply Chain, Swift

●● Shirish Garg, Head, Supply Chain Finance Sales & Client Delivery, Transaction Banking Office for Asia, MUFG Bank

●● Christoph Gugelmann, Co-Founder & CEO, Tradeteq

●● Sarah Gulston, Divisional Director, Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

●● Benjamin Hadfield, South East Asia Country Manager, Trade Finance, Maersk

●● Rebecca Harding, Independent Economist; Women in FinTech Powerlist, 2017; Author, ‘The Weaponization of Trade’

Speakers www.gtreview.com2018’s speakers included

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●● Lee Teng Whatt, Executive Director, Structured Trade & Trade Finance Sales, Global Transaction Services, DBS

●● Tristram Travers, Director, Rembrook Holdings

●● Mark Troutman, Group Head of Sales, Global Transaction Services, DBS

●● Cobe Tsang, President & Chief Operating Officer, Novamondo

●● John Turnbull, Director, Certis International

●● Richard Usher, Partner, DLA Piper

●● Raj Uttamchandani, Executive Director, Trade Finance Market

●● Srinivasan Venkita Padmanabhan, President & Global Head, Corporate Finance, Olam International

●● Anupam Verma, Chief Executive, ICICI Bank, Singapore

●● Vishal Vijay, Head of Business Development, Agrocorp

●● Tim Warren, Head of Credit Lines, Asia Pacific, Zurich Insurance Company

●● Carl Wegner, Managing Director, Head of Asia, R3

●● Emma Weston, Founder & Chief Executive Officer, AgriDigital

●● Anushka Wijesinha, Trade Advisor, Ministry of Development Strategies & International Trade, Government of Sri Lanka

●● Ross Wilkinson, Head of Global Accounts, Bolero International

●● Eric Wong, Director, TCG Capital

●● Cheng Ye, China Country Manager & Shanghai Branch Manager, Wells Fargo

●● Irene Zeng, Head of Cash Management Global Banking Sales, Greater China, HSBC

●● Juliet Zhu, Vice-President, Investment, Fosun RZ Capital SEA

●● Paul Landless, Partner, Clifford Chance

●● Nicolas Langlois, Managing Director, Global Head of Trade Distribution Standard Chartered Bank

●● Amanda Lees, Partner, Simmons & Simmons

●● Kenny Leung, President & Chief Executive Officer, Premium Technology

●● Christina Li, Head of Supply Chain Financing, Wells Fargo

●● Weiping Li, Senior Financial Advisor, ABB Singapore

●● Robert Lin, President & Chief Executive Officer, Seabury Trade Finance Exchange

●● Daniel Lit, Executive Director, Global Trade Product Management, Global Transaction Services, DBS

●● Alexander Malaket, President, Opus Advisory Services International

●● Samuel Mathew, Managing Director, Head of Documentary Trade Products, Standard Chartered Bank

●● Peter Matza, Speakers’ Chair, Association of Corporate Treasurers (ACT)

●● Lisa McAuley, Chief Executive Officer, Global Trade Professionals Alliance (GTPA); Former Chief Executive Officer, Export Council of Australia

●● I-Mei Chan, Regional Head, Distribution & Credit Solutions, Deutsche Bank

●● Tolentino Mendonca, Managing Director, Regional Head of Trade Finance, Asia-Pacific, Credit Agricole

●● Vinay Mendonca, Global Head of Product & Proposition, Global Trade & Receivables Finance, HSBC

●● Melinda Moore, Managing Director, Corporate Sales, Mitigram

●● Tony Nash, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, Complete Intelligence

●● Nitin Navandher, Group Finance Controller, Phoenix Global

“A great exchange of ideas, with many good opportunities to think outside the box!”

C Lam, Barclays

●● Amanda Northey, Regional Head, APAC Financial Markets, Pole Star PurpleTrac

●● Vincent O’Brien, Member of the Executive Committee, ICC Banking Commission

●● Gideon Ong, Co-Founder, RM-Tech Co

●● Jérome Pezé, Chief Executive Officer, Tinubu Square

●● Yian Ping Teo, Regional Treasurer & General Manager, Shell Treasury Centre East

●● Bart Raemaekers, Unit Head, Guarantees & Syndications, Asian Development Bank

●● Anupam Saraf, Managing Director, Linde Treasury Asia Pacific

●● Chris Sawyer, Manager, Global Financial Risks, Asia Pacific, Liberty International Underwriters

●● Shivkumar Seerapu, Managing Director, Head of Global Transaction Banking, Asia Pacific, Lloyds Bank

●● Gopul Shah, Director, Corporate Treasury & Head of Structured Trade Finance, Golden Agri-Resources

●● Sanman Shetty, Head, Trade & Supply Chain Finance Sales, Transaction Banking Office for Asia, MUFG

●● Rajesh Shroff, Chief Financial Officer, Adani Singapore

●● Satvinder Singh, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Singapore

●● Lionel Taylor, Managing Director, Trade Advisory Network (TAN)

Speakers www.gtreview.com2018’s speakers included

9

THAT’S A WRAP!

Post-conference report: GTR Asia 2018 distilled in six points

GTR’s Asia Trade & Treasury Week returned to Singapore from 4 to 7 September 2018, reflecting on a momentous year for global trade and its influence on the Asian market.

Bringing together a record-breaking 1,100 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, the event covered a wide range of topics, from the impacts on Asia of the US-China trade war to the outlook for intra-regional trade, and the perennial hot topic of digitisation and the use of tech in trade. In this post-conference wrap-up, Eleanor Wragg brings together some of the main takeaways and key insights.

Read the full report online here.

I N P A R T N E R S H I P W I T H

P O S T - C O N F E R E N C E R E P O R T F R O M

1. Asia’s place in a changing world

2. Regional flows, patterns and the

outlook for growth: the truth behind

Asian trade

3. Closing the trade finance gap with

tradetech

4. Where do funds fit

into the established corporate/bank

ecosystem?

5. Is China opening up or closing off?

Read the full report

6. Lifting the weight of regulation and

new risks

GTR Asia 2018 distilled in six points www.gtreview.com

10

GTR’s Asia Trade & Treasury Week once again proved an overwhelming success for 2018, bringing together over 1,100 people from the world of trade to consider the latest developments, both in Asia and from a global perspective. With over 25 sessions and a range of topical subjects to cover distilling these into just 5 key messages is no easy task, but here goes:

1. Trump and the trade war – other opinions are available

With the broad liberal consensus seemingly held by most economists that the US-China trade spat is all Trump’s fault, helped in no doubt by the echo chamber that is social media, it was refreshing to hear a new take and a genuine debate on the issue by 2 economists renowned for their contrasting views. Deborah Elms (Asian Trade Center, a lobbying firm) and Tony Nash (Complete Intelligence, a data technology company) provided an entertaining and engaging discussion from completely different perspectives, one in staunch opposition to the current US tariff-based strategy and the other placing more blame at the door of China. Managing to be adversarial whilst still keeping things (fairly) friendly, your average consensus-based panel discussion this was not!

2. Lies, damned lies and statistics

Whilst recognising the old adage that “you can prove anything with statistics”, nonetheless this year’s event threw up some interesting facts around Asian trade. Intra-regional ASEAN trade has led growth through recent downturns with a notable shift in supply chains, while on a country level Vietnam and Hong Kong have been shown to be the fastest growing. Foreign direct investment provides a mixed picture, perhaps unsurprising in a continent of hugely diverse markets. Meanwhile the issue of technology continues to be something of a hot potato – eight

out of 10 countries with the largest share of ICT in their exports are in Asia, while the US still exports a lot of intellectual property to China. These were all points made in a fantastic high level opening discussion session that welcomed banks and corporates alike, expertly moderated by Kai Fehr of Wells Fargo and assisted by economist Rebecca Harding (think Carol Vorderman to his Richard Whiteley, for those old enough to remember the TV show Countdown!)

3. Things move quickly in the world of trade

If there is one thing that can be guaranteed when covering trade across a continent as diverse and wide-ranging as Asia it is that things rarely stand still. Whilst some markets previously heralded as the next great frontiers (Mongolia, Myanmar) have stalled due to political and economic headwinds, others (Sri Lanka, Bangladesh) seem to be on the march, with plenty of interest and inquiries. This could all change by 2019 however, with the only constant being the huge regional investment and ambitious policy initiatives announced by China on an almost daily basis, its regional influence seemingly never having been greater. Even then, only a couple of years ago we were being told about the inevitable rise of Remnimbi as a global settlement currency, which hasn’t quite materialised just yet...

THAT’S A WRAP!

GTR Singapore 2018 - Our ‘Takeaways’

“If there is one thing that can be guaranteed when covering trade across a continent as diverse and wide-ranging as Asia it is that things rarely stand still.”

Jeff Ando, Global Trade Review

4. It’s tough being a start-up

Our inaugural GTR Ventures Tradetech Showcase Competition proved a huge success in introducing delegates to a wide range of innovative and interesting companies, all of whom were keen to present their capabilities and ‘pitch’ their services, business models and strategies to a venerable panel of expert judges. This segment of the event, using a format that left no time for waffle and rewarded brevity, demonstrated how hard it can be as a new entrant into a disrupted and disintermediated market. It was brutal at times with no punches pulled (one of our judges took great delight in being described as the Simon Cowell of trade finance) but at the end a winner was crowned – congratulations to AgriDigital!

5. Regulation and compliance (not to mention crime) are still huge issues

Coming into the afternoon of Day 2 and with various streams and exhibition area activities still going on, we were anticipating our regulation breakout session to be a small (but still engaged) crowd, providing the opportunity to hear from an expert panel before breaking the room into groups for further brainstorming and idea-sharing. We were therefore pleasantly surprised to welcome a room that was full to bursting, requiring us to add more seating and leading us to tear up the initial plans and hold an audience-based Q&A which continued well into the break. Some of the stories and anecdotes were hugely entertaining, whilst others were frankly scary! At times it felt like a group therapy session...

In addition to these subject-based takeaways, we still of course had plenty of time for networking...

Our ‘Takeaways’www.gtreview.com