Singapore authorities are amending existing legislation to ensure the republic remains at the forefront of the digitalisation of global trade.
A pilot initiative starting later this year will turn paper-based bills of lading into electronic ones with politicians set to make relevant changes to the nation’s Electronic Transactions Act to recognise e-bills of lading.
The blockchain pilot, called TradeTrust, was announced by minister for communications and information S. Iswaran in parliament yesterday.
Iswaran said: “TradeTrust will enhance our attractiveness as a business hub and improve the efficiency of our trading and logistics sectors… The Info-communications and Media Development Authority (IMDA) and other government agencies are now working with industry partners to conduct proof-of-concept trials and will provide more details later.”
Government statistics show trade document processing and administration adds an estimated 20% to the physical cost of shipping a single container.
TradeTrust comes soon after the republic’s largest boxline, Pacific International Lines (PIL), conducted a groudbreaking e-bills of lading pilot with IBM last October which ultimately saw the arrival of mandarins to Singapore shipped from China in time for Chinese new year celebrations last month.