ASEAN gets a boost in trade led by GeTS and FMFF; expands across Asia starting with Taiwan

An initiative championed by ASEAN Federation of Forwarders Associations (AFFA), together with Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders (FMFF), Federation of Forwarders Associations in the Philippines (FEDFAP), Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) and Myanmar International Freight Forwarders' Association (MIFFA) to bring their members on board the hive trade facilitation platform powered by GeTS

Initiative expands across Asia with Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Taiwan Freight Logistics Association (TFLA)

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach - 5 October 2017 - hive (highly interconnected & vibrant e-trade), a freight forwarder community centric platform powered by Global eTrade Services (GeTS, a subsidiary of CrimsonLogic, and a leading provider of eGovernment products and services headquartered in Singapore) is set to facilitate connectivity between freight forwarders, their business partners and Customs agencies.

hive makes trade easier, more accessible, and predictable by enabling businesses to meet trade compliance requirements for Customs authorities worldwide. This trade facilitation platform is a collaboration of logistics and forwarder associations championed by ASEAN Federation of Forwarders Associations (AFFA), Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders (FMFF), and Taiwan Freight Logistics Association (TFLA) with pioneer members that include Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. Users will also be able to search and connect with tens of thousands of businesses from all over Asia using hive's Partner Discovery Service.

Other AFFA members coming onboard the hive platform include the Federation of Forwarders Associations in the Philippines (FEDFAP), Vietnam Logistics Business Association (VLA) and Myanmar International Freight Forwarders' Association (MIFFA).  The combined number of members from all the logistics associations of AFFA, numbering in excess of 10,000,will be using hive to facilitate easier trade across ASEAN.

An MOU signing with Taiwan Freight Logistics Association (TFLA) at launch expands hive's trade connectivity beyond ASEAN, enabling AFFA members to have access to the Taiwan shipping communities and to have more efficient trade declarations in this market.

"ASEAN is celebrating its 50^th Anniversary this year and continuing to deepen ties and trade among its members, as well as across the region. What started off as US$10b in trade when ASEAN started out in 1967, has grown to US$2.219 trillion last year. Strengthening logistics infrastructure will be the key to further growth across the region in the future. With hive, we will drive greater collaboration, enabling businesses to achieve greater efficiency, productivity and growth," said Mr Eugene Wong, Chairman of CrimsonLogic and GeTS.

Research by the APEC Business Advisory Council, University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business finds that global e-commerce firms on average export to 30 to 40 different economies compared with 3 to 4 economies for traditional exporters. hive will enable its members to quickly and efficiently meet cross-border trade compliance requirements for more than 50 Customs authorities worldwide, saving them time and increasing productivity.

 "Asia accounts for a significant percentage of the global trade. Collectively, ASEAN, home to one of the most vibrant markets, would be world's third largest market, with Malaysia a leading economy in the region.  In the last year alone, GeTS has already connected more than 163,000 parties to each other, conducted more than 900,000 trade transactions and moved more than 71.5 million tonnes of cargo across borders. Now, we want to bring the power of GeTS to hive members. We want to change the way trade compliance is done; making cross-border trade easier, more accessible, and predictable," said Mr Chong Kok Keong, CEO at Global eTrade Services (GeTS), Assistant CEO at CrimsonLogic.

"We are looking forward to our partnership with Global eTrade Services. This initiative is just the beginning in improving logistics opportunities across Asia and the world for our members. Through hive services, our members can look forward to greater collaboration across Asia, changing the way trade is conducted," said Alvin Chua, President, Federation of Malaysian Freight Forwarders (FMFF).

hive members will be able to access four services:

Partner Discovery Service: a social-media-like application that enables members to search for, discover and create connections with new partners. Members are also able to initiate communications with, review, and endorse partners from within the platform.

Trade Compliance Services: facilitates the fulfilment of trade compliance. Business users are able to start the regulatory submissions via the web, fax, email or electronic integration (regardless of data format) with 24x7 support through phone, email and live webchat.

Cross Border Services: is a centralised global trade platform that facilitates cross-border trade with end-to-end compliance connectivity and has an ever-growing global network of over 163,000 connected parties and 50 over customs authorities.

Member Management System: is an optional module developed for associations or industry bodies to manage their portals and members.

About Global eTrade Services (GeTS)

Global eTrade Services (GeTS) is a CrimsonLogic subsidiary and a key growth engine for the Group.  GeTS has a comprehensive suite of services that helps traders meet regulatory and compliance requirements from Government agencies and trade associations around the world.  Based on a SaaS model, GeTS is centred on a Single Window (SW) that facilitates global trade with Compliance Connectivity, eAdvisory and Data Analytics suite of services.