A.P. Moller Transport and Logistics Division’s Maersk Trade Finance is introducing a new digital service in the UAE, a one of its kind way of financing containerised shipments, for companies who are looking to finance their global shipments to international markets.
Vipul Sardana, head of Trade Finance, Maersk, said: According to the World Trade Organization, access to trade finance is the second biggest obstacle to trade, infrastructure being the first. To stay relevant in todays business environment, we need to keep pace with our customers needs and constantly strive to make things simpler for them. With that in mind, we have created a simple, end-to-end digital solution, removing the paper trail from traditional banking options, providing easy access to capital to customers when they need it the most.”
Maersk Trade Finance provides local exporters and importers, who ship with Maersk, with an efficient and effective solution to manage flow of goods as well as flow of money through a simple digital integration. It provides customers with the benefit of working with a reliable transportation partner who is also funding their global trade. The additional benefits include easy access to capital to finance their business needs when they need it; quick and easy credit assessment; paperless transactions enabled digitally; faster release of funds enabling liquidity; avoid the collateral trap for export financing; and growth opportunity as well as ability for customers to tap into Maersk global network, offering unparalleled reach in many regions.
Christian Juul-Nyholm, managing director, Maersk Line UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Iran, said: Due to its strategic geographical location, business friendly environment and good logistics infrastructure, the UAE is a crucial trade hub for the entire Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. Launching Maersk Trade Finance here is a natural step for us. Since the launch in the UAE market we have received great interest from customers across diverse sectors, who are in need of a reliable partner. We are excited about the achievement that we have made in a short span of time and are confident about future potential in the country.
Since inception back in 2015, Maersk Trade Finance has on-boarded around 150 customers and has disbursed loans over $160mn. According to Sardana: The UAE will become one of our key markets. Since the launch in the UAE back in July 2017 a range of customers from diverse sectors have required our service which has resulted in more than $30mn in business contracts.