The World Trade Board today unveiled three key initiatives to drive the trade finance agenda at Sibos 2016. It marks a move to facilitate and expand global trade in support of long-term economic growth and prosperity for people across the world.

The commitment follows the World Trade Symposium, held in June 2016, co-organised by Misys and the Financial Times. The initiatives are outlined in the World Trade Symposium 2016: executive summary and action plan, published today, and include: 

Driving global adoption of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEIs)

In consultation with the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), the World Trade Board sees an opportunity to drive adoption of global legal identifier (LEI) numbers by all companies involved in cross-border trade and to achieve this it will launch a taskforce. According to the official release, this initiative will serve to improve transparency, support trade finance digitalisation and streamline onboarding and risk management along global financial supply chains in order to underpin more inclusive trade and SME finance.

Forwarding blockchain education, standards and adoption for the complex ecosystem of world trade

The World Trade Board’s Blockchain Working Group intends to deliver education across various stakeholders in global trade and shape discussion on implementation standards and the adoption of best practices. The group will develop commonly agreed definitions around the technology, identify potential areas of implementation, and involve relevant stakeholders. It will also organise workshops with supply chain and logistics managers of international companies to explore the blockchain concept, extend the results of the workshop to international stakeholders and launch a central repository of information.

Engaging and supporting the mandate of the World SME Forum

This partnership will aim to enable SMEs from around the world to engage effectively and successfully in international markets. This will assist in increasing the global economic impact of these organisations.

“Globalisation and digitalisation are game-changers in the world of trade,” said Simon Paris, Co-Chair of the World Trade Board and President at Misys. “Through a greater integration of trade, finance and technology we can facilitate improvements in transparency, the adoption of harmonised standards and incentives that can help trade realise its potential as a force for transformation. The initiatives outlined are designed with this in mind. There is no better time for the stakeholders in global trade to unite under a common goal – to improve people’s lives.”

The World Trade Board and World Trade Symposium aim to foster a more inclusive future for international trade, finance and investment by bringing together global and regional leaders in business, finance, technology, politics and economics. Through collaborative initiatives, the objective is to inspire, educate and deliver action-oriented working groups that provide substantive outcomes and forward thinking around sustainable trade and the circular economy. The Board will take active roles in expanding these initiatives and driving input into the agenda of the World Trade Symposium 2017.