Deputy Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for Economic Policies, Heng Swee Keat, emphasizes the critical role of digitalization in enhancing Singapore’s maritime trade efficiency at the TechWaves: SGTraDex Maritime Conference.

In a significant speech delivered on 23 February 2024, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat underscored the transformative impact of digitalization on global trade and Singapore’s pivotal role in this change at the TechWaves: SGTraDex Maritime Conference. Hosted by SGTraDex Services’ Chairman Mr. Tan Chin Hwee and Vice-Chairman Mr. Tan Chong Meng, the event marked an important advancement in the journey of the Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex), a platform established in July 2021 under the Alliance for Action on Supply Chain Digitalisation. SGTraDex aims to foster a common data infrastructure to enable trusted trade data sharing through public-private partnerships.

The Deputy Prime Minister lauded the collective efforts of government agencies, financial institutions, and supply chain players for the successful rollout of SGTraDex, which has become a key innovation in global trade. He highlighted Singapore’s historical trade significance, the challenges posed by protectionism, the COVID-19 pandemic, and geopolitical shifts, and how SGTraDex serves as a digital solution to these challenges by enabling more than 35 million transactions to date.

SGTraDex has significantly contributed to the Singaporean economy, particularly in the bunkering industry, by facilitating faster payment cycles and enhancing credit availability, resulting in S$500,000 worth of value created in 2023 alone. The platform’s success in improving logistics and banking financing for small licensed bunker suppliers was also emphasized.

The Deputy Prime Minister outlined the principles for digital platform success: trust, security, scalability, interoperability, and the timely accessibility of data. He also stressed the importance of cross-sector collaboration for widespread digital adoption and highlighted future directions for SGTraDex, including further adoption, supporting national sustainability goals, and expanding cross-border adoption to reinforce Singapore’s role as a global trade connector.

In conclusion, Heng Swee Keat called for continued collaboration and innovation to grow SGTraDex into a trusted and high-performance digital infrastructure that serves not only Singapore but the global community.

Source – PMO