MY E.G. Services Berhad (MYEG) and its Philippine-incorporated companies signed agreements with the Bureau of Customs (BoC) and Cargo Data Exchange Center, Inc. (CDEC) to deploy a blockchain-based customs clearance platform to be used for trade flows between the Philippines and China, the company said.

The digital solution called Ztrade is a Web3 + artificial intelligence (AI) link between China and its trading partners that runs on MYEG’s innovative Zetrix layer-1 blockchain platform, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Philippines will be the second country after Malaysia to use the Ztrade platform.

Under the agreements, MYEG will deploy the Ztrade platform, including ground installation, training, and assistance with customization requirements. Meanwhile, CDEC, a service provider of trade and logistics solutions for the BoC, will support the integration of Ztrade to its platform to ensure a seamless experience for users.

“The new platform is expected to play a pivotal role in bolstering the trade relationship between the Philippines and China, which has grown exponentially at an average annual rate of 50.04 billion from 2017 to 20211. China stands as the largest import and export trade partner of the Philippines,” MYEG said.

“Leveraging on Web3 technologies of blockchain smart contracts and AI, the Ztrade service, can overcome the prevailing limitations of conventional technology architecture in providing a reliable and automated method of securely and effectively digitalizing trade clearance processing, whilst removing the cumbersome retro-verification currently practized, thus making it hassle-free, seamless, faster and simpler overall,” it added.

BoC Commissioner Bienvenido Y. Rubio said the platform will “enable the verification of certificates of origin for exports to China and vice versa, using express clearance and tariff exemptions under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement.”

The use of the platform will be free for the Philippine government and is expected to help facilitate greater trade between the two countries, Mr. Rubio added.

“At CDEC, we are proud to be the partner of MYEG in launching the Zetrix platform which will increase the global trade competitiveness of the Philippines and improve ease of doing business for our traders and logistics service providers,” CDEC President Jason Gaw Cheng said.

MYEG has previously provided e-government services to the Philippines, including to the National Bureau of Investigation, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Bureau of Internal Revenue, among others. — MHLA

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