Category: Press/Announcements
Press or Announcements of GTRV
GTR Ventures and Fineon Exchange secure investment and co-operation agreement
London/Singapore June 29th, 2021: GTR Ventures has agreed an equity investment in Fineon Exchange. GTR Ventures (GTRV) is the world’s leading trade finance and supply chain venture building and investment company, while Fineon Exchange is the global marketplace for trade finance
assets.
GTRV will work with Fineon Exchange by helping build its business globally and increase its connections within the international trade finance sphere. GTRV will leverage its access, network and marketing strength through its connection to Global Trade Review (GTR), the world’s leading news and events media company in the global trade, commodity, export and supply chain finance space.
Fineon Exchange connects businesses who have working capital finance needs, with a range of financial institutions seeking to insure and fund such assets. Its easy-to-use trading platform and associated reporting functions, democratises access to trade finance and enables counterparties to transact more efficiently. Powered by artificial intelligence, Fineon’s secure and API-driven platform presents businesses’ trade finance requests in an optimal manner and maximises potential matches with funding partners, thereby enabling them and their advisors to manage their working capital needs efficiently.
Funders are able to benefit from credit insurance to protect international trade payment facilities, general corporate loans and other financial assets against default. Fineon Exchange’s chief executive officer, Dominic Broom, says: “This is an exciting development for Fineon Exchange. We are delighted to be entering into this partnership with GTRV, and on the back of their introductions, look forward to supporting more exporters, brokers and financial institutions with our unique service.”
Peter Gubbins, director of GTRV in London, says: “Fineon is a welcome addition to the GTR Ventures family of trade-related investments. We recognise the solid and experienced team behind Fineon, plus a strong mission to solve the funding and insurance gaps facing many exporters. By tying in with GTRV, Fineon instantly accesses the global target audiences it needs to connect with.”
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About Fineon Exchange
Fineon Exchange is the AI-powered global marketplace for trade finance assets. The platform helps businesses to increase their global sales, optimise their working capital and minimise risk, by validating their trade finance requirements and matching them with the most appropriate funders
and credit insurers to support their end-to-end financing needs.
The online marketplace simultaneously enables funders and insurers to access a range of high-quality assets in a secure and cost-effective manner. The platform’s market intelligence capabilities enable them to spot industry trends and enhance their trade finance portfolios. Fineon is
headquartered in Luxembourg with offices in Lebanon and the UK.
About GTR Ventures
Based out of Singapore and London, GTR Ventures is the world’s leading investment and venture building platform dedicated to trade and supply chain. In exclusive partnership with Global Trade Review (GTR), the world’s leader in global trade and trade finance intelligence, publishing, news and
events, GTR Ventures mobilises private capital for trade and trade finance, investing in and supporting the development of trade-focused fintech companies (tradetechs) while working with multiple stakeholders to integrate technology into trade. GTRV focuses on four main investment
areas: transaction banking (trade finance, treasury, & cash), trade insurance & risk management, SME finance & supply chain and physical trade.
Media Contacts
Sophia Sheppod
Fineon Exchange
https://fineon.net
sophiashepodd@gmail.com
Reefknot Investments and SGInnovate-Backed Logistics & Supply Chain Think Tank GESCT Rebrands to NEXST
- Next Supply Chain (NEXST) is a Singapore-driven global ‘think tank’ initiative. It brings together among the world’s top minds in logistics and supply chain.
- Founded by industry leaders including Kuehne + Nagel, Reefknot Investments, SGInnovate, along with independent members from World Economic Forum and Starbucks Corporation.
- Launched in September 2019, NEXST has seen significant momentum as a closed-door platform driving knowledge sharing and innovation in the logistics and supply chain sector.
- This includes the launch of a whitepaper around supply chain digital transformation and visibility post-pandemic. NEXST also welcomes global trade publisher and event organiser Global Trade Review (GTR) as its latest member.
Singapore, 4 June 2020 – Global Emerging Supply Chain Technologies (GESCT), a Singapore-driven global initiative which drives new business models and transformations in the supply chain and logistics industry, today announced it has rebranded to Next Supply Chain (NEXST). NEXST was formed as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Kuehne + Nagel, a global transport and logistics company, Reefknot Investments, a Temasek-backed Venture Capital firm, and SGInnovate, a private organisation backed by the Singapore government with a focus on driving deep tech innovation. The three companies were joined in individual capacities by Wolfgang Lehmacher, Former Director and Head of Supply Chain and Transport Industries, World Economic Forum, and Kong Wai Wei, Global Supply Chain Director, Starbucks Corporation.
NEXST holds a global ambition and strategy around identifying and helping to drive new business models and transformational technology in the logistics and supply chain industry. Since NEXST’s launch in September 2019, and especially during this Covid-19 pandemic. It has seen significant momentum as an industry platform, including the launch of a whitepaper around supply chain digital transformation post-pandemic, as well as welcoming publisher and event organiser Global Trade Review (GTR) as its latest member.
“The global logistics and supply chain space is transforming at an accelerated pace, particularly during this pandemic. While there is this need for quick and decisive change, latest industry and technology knowledge and business model innovation continues to remain fragmented,” said Marc Dragon, Managing Director of Reefknot Investments.
“NEXST’s rebrand from GESCT is reflective of its ambition as a closed-door ‘think tank’, where top minds in the logistics, supply chain, and technology industry could explore needed business models and technologies to create the Next Generation Supply Chain. Around this, it is an absolute pleasure to also welcome Global Trade Review, a key source of Global Trade information, as well as having a great ecosystem of Trade Finance partners to help to contribute to and amplify NEXST’s member insights to help take innovation to a wider public,” added Marc.
“GTR is pleased to join the NEXST consortium, and mobilise our global platform for the benefit of paradigm shifts in trade. The post-pandemic future of supply chain will see an acceleration in the adoption of digital innovation in trade, or ‘tradetech’ as we call it. With NEXST members and our ecosystem of trade finance lenders, insurers, corporate treasurers, and tradetechs, we shall contribute towards the co-creation of new products for the industry,” said Kelvin Tan, co-founder and Chief Investment Officer of GTR Ventures, GTR’s venture building arm.
“While the ongoing pandemic has resurfaced existing inefficiencies and created new challenges in the supply chain and logistics sector, it has also unlocked opportunities for entrepreneurs and the wider industry to address them through innovation. At SGInnovate, we have been working closely with leaders in the supply chain and logistics sector, and Deep Tech startups to resolve existing pain points collectively,” said Heng Soon Pang, Head of Venture Building, SGInnovate.
“Our participation in NEXST helps us to bring more value in applying technology to transform supply chain management. We will like to encourage more industry players and entrepreneurial scientists to partner with us and create positive change for the sector,” added Mr. Pang.
NEXST’s first quarterly whitepaper titled “Supply Chain Digital Transformation: Enhancement of Supply Chain Visibility For the Post-COVID-19 World” is available online through SGInnovate’s as well as Reefknot Investments’ websites. The whitepaper, a collaborative effort between NEXST, Reefknot Investments and SGInnovate, provides insights on what supply chain visibility means today, emerging issues and challenges and case studies on how cutting-edge technology, including IoT and AI could propel firms towards Supply Chain 4.0.
In the coming months, NEXST will look to publish more industry white papers to help governments, corporations and the larger industry stay ahead of the transformation, creating the supply chain ecosystem for tomorrow. It also looks to add to its growing list of industry leaders and members, to deliver on its ambition of building the first truly global industry think tank. Some of its activities include monthly closed-door expert panels, quarterly forums, and active curation of supply chain business models and technology trends.
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About NEXST
The Next Supply Chain (NEXST) is a think-tank initiative aimed at driving new business models and transformational technology in the Supply Chain and Logistics industry. NEXST aims to positively create value and impact for the Supply Chain and Logistics industry, to partner with and support high growth technology businesses seeking to transform the Supply Chain and Logistics industry, and to become a global centre of gravity for all technology startups in the Supply Chain and Logistics industry.
About Reefknot Investments
We invest in high growth technology companies pushing new frontiers within the supply chain and logistics space. Beyond the pure financial investment, we further leverage our ecosystem of partners to support our portfolio companies with the necessary domain or technical expertise.
Our platform provides founders access to the business insights of Temasek, the logistics & supply chain expertise of Kuehne + Nagel, and an ecosystem of high-value partners who will bring added support to help accelerate business growth. For more information, please visit: https://www.reefknotinvestments.com/
About SGInnovate
At SGInnovate, we build and scale Deep Tech startups into high potential companies with global impact. We believe that hard global problems can be solved using Deep Tech, and Singapore, where we are based, is uniquely positioned to realise Deep Tech innovations that can tackle these challenges. Our Deep Tech Nexus Strategy is focused on adding tangible value to the Deep Tech startup ecosystem in two key areas – development of Human Capital and deployment of Investment Capital. With the support of our partners and co-investors, we back entrepreneurial scientists through equity-based investments, access to talent and business-building advice. Our efforts are prioritised around emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Tech, MedTech and Quantum Tech, which represent impactful and scalable answers to global challenges. SGInnovate is a private-limited company wholly owned by the Singapore Government. For more information, please visit www.sginnovate.com.
Media Contacts
Gladys Lee
PRecious Communications for Reefknot Investments
reefknot@preciouscomms.com
+65 91520086
Dion Lim
IN.FOM for SGInnovate
sginnovate@infom.asia
GTR Ventures wins Capital for Good Award at Brands for Good
Brands For Good aims to recognise businesses that not only make a difference, but also commit to being stewards for a positive impact. It honours SMEs across Asia for embodying the principles of Social Responsibility in their business and operations. It was truly a great honour to be apart of such an incredible event, and we look forward to continuing the goal of providing capital for good!
GTR Ventures在新加坡金融科技節上宣佈達成三項新交易
I透過與金融科技公司合作，為新興亞洲市場提供更大的金融包容性
倫敦和新加坡2018年11月13日電 /美通社/ —
新加坡金融管理局（簡稱MAS）的金融科技總監Sopnendu Mohanty表示：「在金融科技企業家、
Lucidity是一家貿易金融文檔解決方案提供商，
PSA unboXed副總裁Elton Fong就此次交易表示：「我們非常高興投資Lucidity。
iLoan為中小企業、批發商和分銷商貸款提供區塊鏈解決方案。
據亞洲開發銀行的一項研究顯示，新興亞洲市場目前佔全球1.
融脈科技為銀行、企業和B2B電商平台提供金融科技解決方案。
GTR Ventures信息總監Kelvin Tan稱：「
GTR Ventures簡介（聯繫電郵：info@
GTR Ventures 在倫敦、新加坡和香港設有總部，
PSA unboXed簡介 （聯繫電郵：psaunboxed@globalpsa.com
PSA unboXed是新加坡國際港務集團旗下企業創新與風險投資公司
Lucidity簡介：（聯繫電郵：corporate@
Lucidity為出口商和交易商提供從交易發起到電子提單解決
約翰-基爾控股公司簡介（聯繫電郵：jkh@keells.
約翰-基爾控股公司（簡稱JKH）是斯里蘭卡最大的上市集團，
iLoan簡介（聯繫電郵：shamraz@iloan.lk；
iloan成立於2017年，是一家新興金融科技公司，
融脈科技簡介（聯繫電郵：marketing@rm-tech.
融脈科技是一家總部位於中國廣州的金融科技公司。
聯繫人：Aidan Beresford，電話：+65-8445-1335
GTR Ventures Announces Three New Deals During Singapore Fintech Festival
From left to right- Poh Teck Tan EVP GTR Ventures, John Khaw CEO Lucidity Digital Pte Ltd, Rupert Sayer CEO GTR Ventures, Sopnendu Mohanty Chief Fintech Officer Monetary Authority of Singapore, Fazley Azhar Director iLoan Sri Lanka, Ningwa Lau Co-Founder iLoan Sri Lanka, Kelvin Tan CIO GTR Ventures
Our press release is available in multiple languages:
Mandarin
GTR Ventures Announces Three New Deals During Singapore Fintech Festival
Deepening Financial Inclusion Across Emerging Asia Through Fintech Partnerships
London/Singapore – November 12 2018: GTR Ventures, the world’s first investment and venture-building platform specialised in trade and supply chain, has announced three new deals with Lucidity, iLoan and RM-Tech. These three investments, representing an expanded pivot towards markets in China and South Asia, were announced on the first day of the Singapore Fintech Festival, the world’s largest fintech gathering.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), says: “Asia is going through a phenomenal digital transformation on the back of innovation led by fintech entrepreneurs, financial institutions, and the rise of digital trade and e-commerce platforms. I welcome GTR Ventures’ recent investee companies to our ecosystem, and look forward to greater financial inclusion for SMEs in this region.”
Lucidity is a trade finance documentation solutions provider that employs automation and machine learning to improve efficiencies in manual paperwork such as letters of credit, allowing exporters to get paid faster and improve their productivity. Lucidity also enables automation in trade finance compliance checks for banks, helping them to reduce operational costs as well as lower their risks against the global backdrop of increasing compliance oversight. Lucidity is backed by PSA unboXed, the corporate venture capital arm of Singapore’s global port operator PSA International.
Commenting on the deal, Elton Fong, Vice-President of PSA unboXed, elaborates: “We are pleased to have invested in Lucidity. Leveraging our access to the global trade community, we look forward to working with all stakeholders, including banks, to increase the digitisation of trade.”
iLoan provides blockchain solutions for loans to SMEs, wholesalers and distributors. Its technology allows lenders to reduce invoice fraud, lower processing costs and have efficient traceability of each transaction. iLoan is a part of John Keells X, which is a startup accelerator designed to support early stage startups, initiated by John Keells Group, Sri Lanka’s largest business conglomerate.
According to an Asian Development Bank (ADB) study, emerging Asia constitutes 40% of the global US$1.5tn trade finance gap. Meanwhile, a World Bank study on SME finance attributes the working capital gap at US$2.6tn. Adding to these finance gaps are the legal complexities, FX risk, and overall costs of cross-border payments that make it difficult for SMEs in emerging Asia to quickly and cost-effectively make payments globally.
RM-Tech is a fintech solution provider to banks, corporates, and business-to-business (B2B) portals. Its product suite allows for multi-channel payments and unparalleled connectivity to banks for clearing and settlement services. Connected to seven banks in China, it has over 300 Chinese customers and processes over RMB100mn of transactions each month. RM-Tech is working with GTR Ventures to offer cost-efficient cross-border B2B payment services from its existing network of banks and Chinese exporters.
Kelvin Tan, CIO of GTR Ventures, says: “These latest additions to our investment portfolio correspond with our vision to create a compelling network effect of digital fintech solutions in the world of trade and supply chain that can comprehensively cater to banks, non-banks and SMEs. Be it geographical reach, loan products, operational efficiency, settlements or asset distribution, we are on track to tackling different parts of the transactional value chain with a view to deepening financial inclusion for exporters and SMEs globally.”
About PSA unboXed (Contact: psaunboxed@globalpsa.com; website: https://unboxed.globalpsa.com)
PSA unboXed is the corporate innovation and venture capital arm of PSA International. PSA unboXed seeks to harness technology and innovation from startups with a focus on ports, maritime, logistics and containerised cargo flow. PSA International is a leading global port group handling about 64mn containers (TEUs) out of 700mn globally, with port projects spanning across Asia, Europe and the Americas.
About Lucidity: (Contact: corporate@lucidity.asia; website: www.lucidity.asia)
Lucidity provides automation and digitalisation solutions for supply-side documentation, ranging from transaction origination to electronic bill of lading (BL) solutions for exporters and traders. Going beyond digitised documents, the company employs machine learning to solve one of the most important challenges surrounding trade documentation ‑ its deep reliance on human experience and comprehension. Lucidity allows financial institutions to compete and stay ahead of their competitors in today’s increasingly cost-conscious macro-environment.
About John Keells Holdings (Contact: jkh@keells.com; website: www.keells.com)
John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH) is Sri Lanka’s largest listed conglomerate in the Colombo Stock Exchange. From managing hotels and resorts in Sri Lanka and the Maldives to providing port, marine fuel and logistics services to IT solutions, manufacturing of food and beverages to running a chain of supermarkets, tea broking to stock broking, life insurance and banking to real estate, JKH has made its presence felt in virtually every major sphere of the economy. JKH is a full member of the World Economic Forum and having issued Global Depository Receipts on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange, was the first Sri Lankan company to be listed overseas. With a rich history of over 150 years, since modest beginnings as a produce and exchange broker in the early 1870s, JKH has been known to constantly re-invent, re-align and reposition ourselves in exploring new avenues of growth.
About iLoan (Contact: shamraz@iloan.lk; website: www.iloan.ik)
Founded in 2017, iloan is an emerging fintech company that provides access to working capital for micro and SMEs in South Asian frontier markets. It has developed a proprietary loan aggregation engine and invoice verification protocol using distributed ledger technology to enhance transparency on underlying loan assets for financial institutions.
About RM-Tech: (Contact: marketing@rm-tech.com.cn; website: http://www.rm-tech.com.cn)
RM-Tech is a fintech company based in Guangzhou, China. Connected to seven banks in China, it provides enterprises and B2B portals with a payment, accounts and settlement platform, as well as enabling low-cost financing. RM-Tech has processed over RMB1bn of transactions to date and processes over RMB100mn-worth each month.
Startups Pitch at GTR Asia Tradetech Forum
On June 11, approximately 150 delegates representing over 100 countries gathered at the JW Marriott Hotel in Hong Kong for the GTR Asia Tradetech Forum. The conference brought together an array of trade and industry experts all featuring the latest technological developments for trade and supply chain.
The conference featured a discussion on the latest around the Global Trade Connectivity Network. The Global Trade Connectivity Network is the first joint venture innovation project arising from the agreement signed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The panel was moderated by David Koh, Regional Head of Transaction Banking for Greater China and North Asia for Standard Chartered Bank, and featured Nelson Chow, Chief Fintech Officer for Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and Serene Ho, Director of the National Trade Platform Office for Singapore Customs.
To close out the conference, a #tradetech technology showcase panel was led by the following experts:
- Musheer Ahmed (General Manager of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong);
- Frankie Tam (Vice President of Hong Kong Internet Finance Association),
- Angie Lin (Co-CEO of AMTD Strategic Capital).
Featuring Our Portfolio Companies
The showcase featured four different presentations led by fintech startups.
- Tradeteq, led by Nils Behling, opened the showcase with a presentation on Achieving Transparency in Distributing Trade Finance Assets.
- Culum Capital’s CEO Ginnie Chin followed with a presentation on Unlocking Working Capital with Trade Finance.
- RM-Tech’s Gideon Ong presented on Enabling Low-Cost Financing Through Bank Accounts
- Finally, the showcase concluded with Diginex’s, led by Thomas Glucksmann, presentation on Enhancing Working Capital Positions with Smart Contracts.
GTR Ventures Shortlisted for Wild Digital Venture Tech Conference
The Wild Digital Venture Tech Conference, hosted on July 4-5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, featured presentations from 70 speakers with over 1200 delegates from an array of industries. The conference centred on the theme Inspire Connect Disrupt and brought together top internet players, entrepreneurs, investors, executives and founders. Day one of the conference featured a presentation on venture capital funding by GTR Ventures’s CIO Kelvin Tan, and it was truly an honour to be selected to appear at this prestigious event.
GTR Ventures announces debut investments in five trade FinTechs
Our press release is available in multiple languages (pdf):
Mandarin | Japanese | French | English
London/Singapore Mar 12, 2018: GTR Ventures, the world’s first investment and venture-building platform specialized in trade and supply chain, has announced its debut deals with five trade FinTech companies – Tradeteq, Trade Finance Market, Culum Capital, eFundSME and Incomlend. These deals are the first in a strong pipeline of transactions. GTR Ventures has taken equity positions in the five companies, collectively valuing them at around US$50 million.
The companies – four digital trade lenders and a platform for institutional investors to access global trade instruments – have facilitated over US$160 million of trade loan deals since their inception. Launched in September 2017, GTR Ventures will work with the companies and build their businesses including through global expansion, development of new products such as trade finance indices, and connection to a global marketplace for digital trade finance assets.
“We are excited to partner with GTR Ventures as Tradeteq continues to grow,” said Christoph Gugelmann, CEO of UK-headquartered Tradeteq. “This partnership will help us expand our reach to all players within the trade ecosystem and consolidate our European bases while expanding to markets in Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo.”
Kelvin Tan, CIO of GTR Ventures said, “The global trade sector is transforming with digitization and data-driven infrastructure connecting diverse players across the physical and financial aspects of trade. The founders behind Tradeteq, Trade Finance Market, Culum Capital, eFundSME and Incomlend, are driving that change by using technology and data analytics to mitigate risks, make lending more efficient and close the trade finance gap. Our vision is to work with these companies and build strategic first-mover stakes in the future of trade.”
Rupert Sayer, CEO of GTR Ventures, said, “The rapidly changing landscape of trade presents exciting opportunities for investors. As our debut deals show, GTR Ventures is uniquely positioned to identify exceptional investments and, through partnerships and alliances, build a global network that will shape the future of both trade and trade finance.”
GTR Ventures is working on a strong pipeline of additional investments and expects to close five more deals and global partnerships in the next quarter.
Trade finance, which supports annual global trade of US$16 trillion, is an emerging niche investment area. However, some 30% of global trade, or US$5 trillion, is under-financed. This trade finance gap presents a growing opportunity for debt and equity investors. While returns from trade have traditionally come from providers of debt capital, the emergence of tradetechs presents a new opportunity for private equity and other investors looking to diversify.
Click here to visit our portfolio.
About GTR Ventures (Contact: info@gtrventures.vc, website: www.gtrventures.vc)
Based out of London, Singapore, and Hong Kong, GTR Ventures is the world’s first investment platform dedicated to trade and supply chain. In exclusive partnership with Global Trade Review (GTR), the world’s leader in global trade and trade finance intelligence, publishing, news and events, GTR Ventures mobilizes private capital for trade and trade finance, investing in and supporting the development of trade-focused fintech companies (tradetechs) while working with multiple stakeholders to integrate technology into trade. GTR Ventures focuses on four main investment areas: transaction banking (trade finance, treasury, & cash), trade insurance & risk management, SME finance & supply chain and physical trade.
About Culum Capital (contact: enquiry@culumcapital.com, website: www.culumcapital.com)
Culum Capital is a Singapore-headquartered fintech which provides companies with working capital funding using trade finance solutions particularly in receivables purchase and supply chain finance. It is also an investment platform for investors seeking alternative investment opportunities. The company has a proprietary risk assessment and management system to ensure the quality of deals flowing through its platform.
About eFundSME (contact: enquiry@efundsme.com , website: www.efundsme.com)
eFundSME Global Pte Ltd is an e-marketplace for invoice trading, founded, owned and managed by industry veterans from Singapore. Its key management team comprises professionals from the banking industry with aggregate experience exceeding 100 years. The company leverages the power of online technology to transform trade finance for the mutual benefit of SME sellers and investor buyers.
About Incomlend (contact: info@incomlend.com, website: www.incomlend.com)
Operating in Hong Kong and Singapore, Incomlend is a global invoice exchange where companies from different countries can fund their export receivables by selling them to private investors at a discount. The platform trades in multiple currencies (USD, EUR, SGD, and HKD) and offers an integrated digital receivables discounting solution to both suppliers and buyers across its global supply chain, dynamic discounting and factoring products. Investors’ capital is protected against debtors’ credit risk by world leading credit insurers.
About Tradeteq (contact: Nils Behling – nbehling@tradeteq.com, website: www.tradeteq.com)
UK-headquartered Tradeteq provides the collaborative network for trade finance investors and originators, to connect, interact, and transact. Tradeteq delivers AI-powered credit analytics, reporting, investment and operational solutions. Tradeteq transforms trade finance assets into transparent and scalable investments.
About Trade Finance Market (contact: media@tradefinancemarket.com, website: www.tradefinancemarket.com)
Singapore-based Trade Finance Market (TFM) is a fintech leader in providing alternative trade finance solutions for small and medium enterprises. TFM also develops blockchain-based tools to derisk and lower the cost of trade finance transactions – including InvoiceCheck, a tool designed to reduce invoice finance fraud.
-Ends-
Watch this space for our debut deals!
Our debut deals will be announced at 4 PM GMT +8 on the 12th of March 2018.
Watch this space!
Press Release: Trade just got smarter – GTR investment platform is world’s first dedicated to fintechs for trade (#tradetechs)
Rupert Sayer, co-founder and chief executive officer of GTR and GTR Ventures
Singapore, September 5th, 2017 – The world’s leading trade finance-focused media and events firm Global Trade Review (GTR) has launched its investment arm, GTR Ventures (GTRV), during its annual GTR Asia Trade & Treasury Week in Singapore ─ the world’s largest gathering of global trade finance decision makers.
GTR Ventures is the world’s first investment firm solely supporting and innovating alongside banks, insurers, corporates, and tradetechs specifically for trade and trade finance. The firm’s mandate includes mobilising greater private capital into trade and small-and-medium enterprise (SME) lending, particularly in emerging markets.
GTRV will offer multiple stakeholders ranging from tradetech entrepreneurs, investors, private companies, banks and governments the unique opportunity to collaboratively test and benefit from integrating cutting-edge financial technology into trade activities. GTRV will not only stimulate public interest in an evolving asset class, it will also serve as a platform to bring together the required expertise to channel more private capital into trade finance.
GTRV will focus on four main investment areas:
Once validated by GTRV’s committees comprising domain specific specialists, tradetechs in these four main investment areas coming through the GTRV platform will have unrivalled access to the markets and target clients that they are looking to connect with and expand. They will engage with the world’s most powerful trade finance community and with accredited investors looking for access to promising and solid trade-related assets. Tradetechs benefit from increased profiling, marketing, advice and support, through GTR’s proven and trusted networks.
GTRV will be managed by Rupert Sayer (co-founder and chief executive officer), Kelvin Tan (co-founder and chief investment officer), both in Singapore, and Peter Gubbins (co-founder and executive director) in London. In addition, GTRV will enjoy the guidance of a close advisory board comprising highly prominent global trade, insurance and investment leaders who know and understand trade and trade finance. GTRV will also be supported by a technology panel and a series of investment committees pertaining to each identified trade finance sub-sector.
Tan was until recently deputy director, trade finance & capital markets development at the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and before that senior investment officer at the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). He also was deputy director, emerging markets at Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Sayer has an editorial and political research background, having been an editor at Euromoney Institutional Investor and Ark Publishing before co-founding GTR. Gubbins headed sales and marketing at various Euromoney and Ark titles.
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- Leading Trade Finance experts discuss latest trends in fintech along the Belt & Road
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- Kelvin Tan (Left), co-founder and chief investment officer of GTR Ventures
Rupert Sayer, co-founder and chief executive officer of GTR Ventures says: “We spent 15 years building the GTR media brand into a trusted source of knowledge, networks and trends for the global trade community. There is arguably no trade banker out there who has not read GTR or who has not attended our many conferences, be it in Singapore, Shanghai, Dubai, London, Mumbai, Jakarta, Cape Town, Mexico, or Chicago. Our vision for GTRV is to leverage this powerful community and accelerate innovation in the global trade and trade finance sectors. Starting out from our bases in London and Singapore, both fintech capitals of the world, GTRV will be a pivot point in the world of investments into trade.”
Kelvin Tan, co-founder and chief investment officer of GTR Ventures, says: “Global trade is an annual, evergreen US$16 trillion sector. Regardless of economic cycles, global trade is here to stay. Yet its merits as an alternative investible asset class is not so widely known. With the huge global GTR community, we are here to change this, and champion trade finance as an asset class. Our initiatives to champion trade finance will enable both private and institutional investors to diversify their portfolios into a stable financial product with relatively low default rates. While the returns from trade have traditionally come from providers of debt capital, the emergence of fintechs for trade – tradetechs – should equally begin attracting private equity into this sector.”
Peter Gubbins, co-founder and executive director of GTR Ventures, says: “GTRV can nurture and accelerate entrepreneurial tradetechs which require considerable capital or experienced mentorship to bring exciting innovations to fruition in the market. With our bases in Singapore and London, two leading financial centres, GTRV will make a significant impact on the global trade ecosystem.”
About Global Trade Review (GTR)
Global Trade Review (GTR), established in 2002 by Rupert Sayer and Peter Gubbins, is the world’s leading news source, publisher and event organiser for the global trade, commodity, export and supply chain finance industries. With offices in Singapore, London and Hong Kong, GTR provides benchmark coverage and in-depth information into the latest developments in emerging markets trade finance. GTR events are the trade finance industry’s biggest and most respected around the world, with the leading industry players, governments, multilaterals and NGOs as supporters and sponsors. Events number over 20 in six continents. GTR is part of Exporta Publishing & Events.
About GTR Ventures
For access to regular updates about GTR Ventures and our latest activities, please visit and follow our LinkedIn and our YouTube pages