GUUD partners with Mizuho Bank on RYTE Trade Finance Application Portal

Mizuho Bank,a leading global bank with one of the largest customer bases in Japan,now supports its trade finance clients in Singapore with a digital application portal for more efficient service delivery

SINGAPORE,Oct. 31,2022 -- Singapore-headquartered trade technology company GUUD Pte Ltd ("GUUD") has today formalised a partnership with Mizuho Bank ("Mizuho"),with regards to RYTE TFAP,a unified multi-bank trade finance application portal providing digital application services from leading local and international trade finance banks in Singapore.

Launched in November 2019 as CamelONE™ Trade Finance,the portal,now known as RYTE TFAP,is available on the Networked Trade Platform ("NTP") as a value-added service and is free for corporates to use. The portal allows corporates to scale up their business without increasing their operational complexity. With the inclusion of Mizuho,11 key trade finance banks partners are currently connected to RYTE TFAP.

As one of the major international Japanese banks serving key Japanese conglomerates via RYTE TFAP,Mizuho will provide digital application services for a range of trade finance products to cover the full requirements of their client base in Singapore.

Today,together with its client,Japanese conglomerate,Mitsui & Co (Asia Pacific) Pte Ltd,Mizuho Bank will successfully complete its first Letter of Credit transaction on RYTE TFAP.

Mr. Shujiro Saito,Chief Financial Officer of Mitsui & Co. (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd. said,"As a large business,we have multiple banking relationships. We appreciate the support from GUUD and Mizuho bank,having onboarded onto RYTE TFAP with the rest of our panel banks."

With digital technologies playing an increasingly important role in supporting broader international trade activities,one of Mizuho Bank's key strategies is to accelerate its digitalisation initiatives and explore collaborations with Fintechs to meet existing client needs as well as create new opportunities.

"Mizuho's partnership with GUUD is a step forward for the bank to meet the evolving business needs of its clients in this new era of digital banking,through the simplification of operational requirements with real-time tracking,paperless applications and faster turn-around times. Besides providing convenience and efficiencies for its clients,the partnership will help strengthen business relationships and create more digital opportunities and channel businesses for the bank and its customers" said Mr. Ashutosh Kumar,Managing Director and Co-Head of Global Transaction Banking,Asia Oceania,Mizuho Bank.

"Mizuho is happy to be able to support our clients such as Mitsui & Co in their digital transformation efforts,to realise greater technological efficiency in their trade finance operations through our participation in RYTE TFAP. We've always been great supporters of innovation,and we believe that digital platforms such as RYTE TFAP can help our clients here in Singapore enjoy better productivity through faster workflows and approvals for their trade finance applications." said Mr. Atsuya Kono,Managing Director and Head of Singapore Corporate Banking,Mizuho Bank.

Mr Desmond Tay,Chief Executive Officer of GUUD shared,"With Mizuho Bank,we now have 11 leading trade finance banks onboard RYTE TFAP,and we're happy that we're able to serve a larger client base,providing greater digital accessibility,visibility,transparency,and efficiency in trade finance operations for all companies. RYTE TFAP was designed to streamline trade finance operations for corporates,especially for those with multiple banking relationships,with the aim of standardising forms,reducing human errors in form filling,creating faster and more efficient workflows,and ultimately reducing the time and money spent in completing trade finance application approvals. We're proud to be able to provide convenience to all our users over the past few years and will continue to do so with the strong support of our stakeholders."

Earlier in July,GUUD also received the Star Partner Award for its contribution to public service sector transformation,for its efforts in the development of RYTE TFAP,with the strong partnership of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS),Singapore Customs and 10 leading trade finance banks. The GUUD team has also been working with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to incorporate electronic BLs ("eBLs") using the TradeTrust utility with the aim to lower costs,enable faster transactions,and build greater trust amongst businesses. The eBL facility will be available on RYTE TFAP by the end of 2022.

Notes to editors:

About GUUD

GUUD,a new digital way to trade globally,is a technology platform and group of businesses. The GUUD group references the UN/CEFACT Buy-Ship-Pay model to cover all aspects of trade facilitation,bypassing long-standing barriers to trade,and digitally transforming trade processes so they become simpler,more efficient and more inclusive.

Led by a strong team of industry and IT professionals,GUUD aspires to help anyone and everyone,especially micro,small and medium enterprises,to become a player in global trade and to export and import from any part of the world.

Our mission is to Trade for Good,and guided by UN's sustainable development goals,we pursue what is good for people,businesses and economies,helping improve livelihoods,generating prosperity and creating technological efficiencies and improvements everywhere we go.

For more information,please visit www.guud.company

About Mizuho Financial Group

Mizuho Financial Group is one of the largest financial institutions in the world,offering comprehensive financial and strategic services including private banking and venture capital through its subsidiaries. The group has over 800 offices and 50,000 employees worldwide in nearly 40 countries throughout the Americas,EMEA,and Asia. As of March 31,2022,its total assets were approximately JPY 200 trillion.

Learn more about Mizuho Financial Group at www.mizuhogroup.com