Introduction
Good afternoon, everyone. A very warm welcome to the Cargox Solution Day.
On behalf of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), I would especially like to thank Mr Weng (翁副局長) from the Shanghai Data Bureau (SDB), and Tan Sri from the PAA Digital Trade Alliance (PAA). It is a great pleasure to see you and thank you for flying into Hong Kong to share your insights on digitalisation with us at this event.
Looking around the room, I am glad to see so many forward-thinking leaders from the banking sector and digital trade community gather together. Your presence underscores the collaborative spirit that is essential to the digital transformation of trade and trade finance.
Such collective effort is indispensable as we navigate today’s complex global trade landscape. Through Project Cargox, we are united by a shared vision: to build a brighter future for global trade through digital innovation and advanced data insights.
HKMA’s commitment to trade finance digitalisation
People may wonder – Why has the HKMA stepped into the realm of digitising trade and trade data?
The answer lies in our mission. As the central banking institution of Hong Kong, the HKMA has a responsibility to support the real economy through the development of essential financial infrastructure. By enhancing and making use of advanced data infrastructure, we are committed to exploring data-driven use cases together with the industry, creating a conducive environment for innovative digital trade and trade finance solutions to emerge.
Hong Kong has long been playing a critical role in global trade. Despite global headwinds, our exports continued to surge and hit HK$667 billion in August this year, second only to the historic high and up 53% year-on-year1. We are seeing double-digit growth for 19 consecutive months, with exports to almost all major markets increasing markedly.
These impressive figures are not only reassuring. They also reflect the valuable contribution made by businesses, particularly SME traders, to our economy. With these enterprises acting as the backbone of Hong Kong’s economy, supporting their financing need essentially means powering the growth engine of the real economy.
Overcoming SME financing hurdles with CDI
This is precisely what our Commercial Data Interchange (CDI) data infrastructure was designed to focus on – to empower businesses to take more control of their digital footprints and better meet their financing needs.
The key challenge in SME financing has always been ecosystem fragmentation. Despite the wealth of cargo and trade data generated through robust trade activities, data is often fragmented across disparate platforms, spanning customs declarations, freight forwarders’ waybills, carrier tracking systems’ cargo location information, and e-commerce platforms’ sales records.
These data silos and fragmentation prevent seamless data sharing across a complex network of stakeholders, and constrain banks’ ability to utilise valuable cargo and trade data that are essential for more efficient, transparent and risk-informed trade financing.
What is more, many of the trade documents are still paper-based, making it inefficient and difficult to track and verify transactions. As a result, banks struggle to collect accurate, real-time data to assess SMEs’ creditworthiness.
These long-standing pain points call for the development of robust data infrastructure like CDI to facilitate seamless and scalable data sharing. Launched in 2022, CDI acts as a trusted channel connecting once isolated digital islands, enabling SMEs to securely share their data held at both public and private sources with banks. Making use of these data, banks are able to optimise the loan application and trade finance processes for SMEs.
Four years into its full operation, CDI has progressively achieved critical mass and created strong network effects, connecting 17 diversified data sources with 28 banks for consented data sharing. We are already seeing promising results brought by the use of CDI, as our study shows that banks that more actively use alternative data through CDI, on average, charge 36 basis points lower interest rates.
Advancing trade finance digitalisation through Cargox
Building on this strong foundation, we launched Project Cargox in April last year, leveraging CDI for consent-based cargo and trade data sharing. The project aims to advance trade finance digitalisation. Its 20 recommendations and a roadmap were published in mid-January, followed by the launch of the Cargox Pilot Programme with 21 pilot banks earlier in May.
Thanks to the active participation from the banking industry, we have been able to take deep dives into various cargo and trade use cases over the last few months. As a start, we strive to first connect CDI with golden data sources developed by the Government, such as the Transport and Logistics Bureau’s Port Community System and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau’s Trade Single Window. Our esteemed partners from these bureaux would be happy to share more details in a panel discussion later.
Evolving from local to regional trade data connectivity
To fully unlock the potential of trade data, our Cargox journey is not confined to the local context. In fact, the digitalisation of trade and trade finance has gradually emerged as one of the most compelling areas for regional collaboration.
A more digitalised and streamlined trade finance ecosystem would not only drive operational efficiency, but also empower traders to transform their business data into tangible source of liquidity, thereby unlocking capital through smarter trade finance solutions.
Recognising how enhanced connectivity and robust data infrastructure can bolster up the real economy, more and more central banks are engaging with us to facilitate knowledge exchange in promoting digital trade and explore collaboration opportunities. As this trend continues, it becomes a natural and strategic development for CDI to gradually evolve from a domestic infrastructure into a multilateral one, serving as a bridge for trade data exchange across borders.
This development echoes the theme of today’s Solution Day, “From local to regional trade data connectivity”, as we seek to enhance cargo and trade data connectivity with Hong Kong’s key trade corridors, including the Chinese Mainland and ASEAN, through CDI and Cargox. Now is the opportune moment to explore expanding connectivity. In the first half of 2026, Hong Kong’s exports to ASEAN increased by 47.8%2. China has remained ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 17 years in a row, while ASEAN has been China’s biggest trading partner for 6 successive years3. These are all evidence of stronger economic integration and trade partnerships among Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and ASEAN economies.
Paving the way for a “triple win”
Regional collaboration on connectivity sets to pave the way for a “triple win”, bringing benefits to Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and ASEAN economies.
First, for Hong Kong traders engaging in offshore trade, this enhanced connectivity can translate into greater availability of trade finance. Utilising trade declaration and real-time cargo flow data sourced from key trade corridors, banks can ensure the authenticity of trade transactions, thereby offering data-driven trade finance solutions to SME traders.
For instance, through a recent link-up between CDI and a digital trade platform developed by the SDB, or “Cargox Connect” as we name this linkage, the first cohort of pilot banks in Hong Kong have gained access to Mainland trade declaration data from the Yangtze River Delta region. This has effectively streamlined various trade finance processes, including trade verification and trade counterpart due diligence. The outcome is faster loan drawdowns for Hong Kong businesses engaging in both onshore and offshore trade.
Second, we aim to leverage Hong Kong’s unique edge as a super-connector and value-adder to support Mainland enterprises as they venture abroad. As these companies seek to develop new sales networks and optimise their supply chains, enhanced data connectivity will allow them to better manage their sourcing operations in overseas markets.
Third, enhanced regional connectivity would also offer tangible benefits to our ASEAN partners. By gaining access to Hong Kong’s cargo and trade data through CDI, ASEAN economies can enhance the transparency of trade transactions, unlock trade finance availability, and bolster the development of their own SME sectors. The signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the HKMA and the PAA later today signifies a giant leap in this area of collaboration, marking a concrete step towards a more integrated and digitally empowered trade ecosystem at the regional level.
Looking ahead, we see great potential to elevate these collaborative efforts, expanding from a single node to a fully connected grid. We intend to radiate the connectivity model successfully established between Hong Kong and Shanghai to other major trade hubs in the Chinese Mainland. Simultaneously, we aim to use Hong Kong as a proven success story to promote this alternative-data-driven trade finance model across our key ASEAN partners and other strategic trade corridors. By scaling these best practices, we can foster a more inclusive and efficient trade finance ecosystem at regional and global levels.
Rally around digital trade today, reap the benefits tomorrow
By working together to enhance data connectivity and catalyse the development of digital trade and trade finance, we can ensure that this digitalisation journey is a win for all.
To data owners like SME traders – this means enhanced access to financing options and improved cash flow; you can also enhance your company’s global market reach and competitiveness.
To banks – with advanced data insights, you can enhance risk management and credit decisions; there are also opportunities to expand your client base through enhanced service offerings.
To data providers – this means opportunities to turn data into dollar; you can also co-develop innovative digital tools and solutions with other industry practitioners to enhance customer experience and loyalty.
By continuing to break down data silos and foster collaboration, we can overcome existing barriers and accelerate the adoption of digital solutions in trade finance. Let us remain committed to this shared vision, ensuring that Hong Kong stays at the forefront of this transformation, while contributing to the broader prosperity of the region and the global trade community.
I wish you all a very enjoyable and fruitful afternoon at this Cargox Solution Day. Thank you.