Contour facilitates transaction between Bangkok Bank, GCM and Opec

By Edil Corneille

Bangkok Bank joined with GC Marketing Solutions Limited (GCM), a company under the GC Group, the chemical flagship of PTT Group, to co-study and develop Letters of Credit (L/C) transactions between Thailand and Vietnam. This is done using the Beta Network of Contour on the Enterprise Blockchain Platform to enable OPEC Plastics Joint Stock Company in Vietnam, a trade partner of GCM, to open digital L/C via Bangkok Bank Hanoi branch and send it to Bangkok Bank Thailand. With this, GCM can export goods as agreed in the L/C.

Bangkok Bank Executive Vice President Pipat Assamongkol apprised, “This success underscores the strengths of Contour – a company that was established and registered in Singapore with 11 leading global banks and organizations, including Bangkok Bank, the first Thai bank to become a shareholder and join the Contour project. Bangkok Bank has worked with R3 since it was established to jointly revolutionize trade finance using the Enterprise Blockchain Platform.”

“They have been working together to develop a network of trade finance information that is reliable and efficient and helps reduce trade restrictions between trade partners. The strength of Bangkok Bank’s network, that covers the world’s major economies, and is concentrated in Asia and ASEAN, has helped connect the trade finance network of the Contour project to all major regions of the world, including Asia, facilitating customers in the import and export business in every region in the world.”

Customer transactions can be done quickly by adopting digital formats throughout the process allowing all partners to see information at the same time on the same Enterprise Blockchain Platform.

PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited Executive Vice President – Finance and Accounting Duangkamol Settanung said PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited and its subsidiaries are using Blockchain to drive business efficiency and strengthen leadership as a sustainable petrochemical business. The blockchain transaction was made by the company’s Trading Flagship GCM and it enables trade partners to easily check transaction details, which are transparent.

The latest transaction was trade digitization under Blockchain using the Contour platform with a Letter of Credit from its trade partner in Vietnam, OPEC Plastics Joint Stock Company to Bangkok Bank. The operating time was reduced from 3 weeks to 24 hours.

Thitipol Artsanchorn, Managing Director of GC Marketing Solutions Company Limited said this is another step forward for GCM in their collaboration with Bangkok Bank in using the latest technology to empower the business according to the vision and mission of the company.

“The transaction between Thailand and Vietnam on the Contour application has given an extremely satisfactory result. The L/C document issuing process can be completed in one hour because of the revolutionary digital transaction model where all information is updated in real-time, reducing documentation and administrative costs. Conditions can be agreed or amended between the partners instantly on the same platform, giving all parties the visibility of information and better financial planning.”

Carl Wegner, CEO, Contour elucidated, “We’re continuing to establish a consistent, reliable and interoperable network for our members. For too long, the lack of a common network has been a key reason why LCs, and trade finance in general, has been held back from digital transformation. With no standard connectivity between the world’s banks and corporates for communication or data sharing, there are inherent inefficiencies and barriers to growth. Our network is solving this problem, growing its presence across regions and sectors. With this latest transaction, Contour is showcasing its ability to manage any type of trade.”