The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, the banking arm of MUFG, and NTT DATA have announced a blockchain Proof-of-Concept (PoC) aimed at strengthening trade ties between Singapore and Japan.

The initiative aims to make cross-border flows more secure, efficient and transparent. In line with Singapore’s SMART Nation objectives, it will seek to foster greater trade and supply chain integration across the region in the long term.

Singapore’s National Trade Platform (NTP) is also actively involved in the project. MUFG is an active member of the NTP working group in Singapore and is also a partner of initiatives led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), including the linkage of NTP to trade platforms in other countries such as Hong Kong’s, and the MAS-led consortium focused on developing blockchain-based inter-bank payment solutions.

“We greatly appreciate the opportunity to conduct this PoC to connect Singapore’s NTP, introduced by MUFG who is a member of working groups of trade platforms in both countries. It is significantly valuable not only for NTT DATA but also trade-related industries in Japan, to verify technical issues, find their solutions and apply standardisation. Through this PoC, we look forward to contributing to trade facilitation within the ASEAN region and all over the world,” Toshi Fujiwara, NTT DATA’s Director and Executive Vice President, said in a statement.

According to the official release, MUFG and NTT DATA will utilize an application programming interface (API) to connect a prototype trade system currently developed by NTT DATA with NTP. The PoC is aimed at providing digital solutions to technical challenges prevalent in international trade, where differing trade regulations and documentation standards predominate.

“MAS welcomes the collaboration between NTT DATA and the NTP as another encouraging step towards digitalising trade and building connectivity in the region. This PoC, together with the GTCN project, demonstrates the growing momentum to digitalise cross-border trade flows and highlights Singapore’s key role as a global hub transforming trade and trade finance,” Jacqueline Loh, Deputy Managing Director, MAS, said.