On June 8, on the final day of SPIEF-2019, the EAEU-ASEAN business dialogue was held. Within the framework of the discussion, possible prospects for partnership between the EAEU and ASEAN were discussed, taking into account the opportunities offered by the Memorandum of Economic Cooperation, signed in November 2018. The possibilities and advantages that the EAEU opens up for business development, attracting foreign partners and investments, prospects for the development of trade between the blocks, as well as problems and challenges facing the development of trade and business interaction between the EAEU and ASEAN countries were examined.
Desmond Tay, co-founder and CEO of the Singapore-based company vCargo Cloud, took part in the discussion. Russia-Singapore Business Council actively cooperates with vCargo Cloud in the integration of the Russian trade and service B2B platform RSTrade and the logistics platform CamelONE, which is managed by vCargo Cloud and currently controls 12% of the logistics services market in Southeast Asia.
In his speech, Mr Tay noted the importance of digital platforms for the private sector, i.a. for companies involved in trade between the EAEU and ASEAN. In his opinion, government and supra-government structures in both regions should promote and encourage such initiatives. As an example of a digital platform that can contribute to the effective interaction of two units in the field of digital commerce, Mr Tay cited the platform RSTrade.
Mr Tay noted that the three key areas in the operation of any digital platform were compliance, logistics and the financial sector. In the case of compliance, this refers to the active interaction of platforms with government agencies and organizations, primarily with the customs services of various countries. In the field of logistics, the key task is to reduce transportation costs. Tools of the financial sector also need to be developed and optimized – for example, recently there has clearly been a tendency to abandon traditional bulky tools, such as a letter of credit, in favor of financial technologies (FinTech).
At the end of his speech, Mr Tay stressed that digital platforms could be of great importance for small and medium-sized businesses in terms of improving their competitiveness.