CCRManager Raises Funding For Corporate Trade Finance Option

CCRManager, which works in distributing trade finance assets digitally, has notched S$3 million in a funding round, which will be used to service corporates for the first time in the company’s history.

The funding will help support CCRManager’s new Open Distribution tool to help broaden corporates’ options in the field, Global Trade Review reported.

COO and CFO George Lee said companies using the Open Distribution platform can in general seek the best financial arrangements through a combination of CCRManager and other institutions.

The primary backers of this recent funding round are Asia Capital & Advisors (ACA), trade facilitation company Global eTrade Services and Curzon Investments, a new private fund looking at supporting enterprise platforms in trade finance.

CCRManager, formed in 2017, will use the money from the new investors to serve corporates as well as bank and investor markets, which was the initial goal. The company is backed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, through its Financial Sector Development Fund.

Now, corporates using the company’s platform will be able “to increase efficiency and effectiveness in their interactions with the financial institution members of CCRManager,” according to Lee. He said companies will be able to utilize interoperability with other companies utilizing the company’s services.

CCRManager is aiming to get around 400 institutions using its programs by its fifth year, according to chairman Kay Chye Tan, whose appointment followed the departure of former CEO Ka Kit Man, who went to work at DBS Bank as vice president of trade asset management last year.

CCRManager has members in over 100 financial institutions and non-bank lenders in 35 countries, according to the trade publication.

With vibrant global demand, trade finance can have a lot of avenues, leaving businesses confused as to what their options are, with a morass of non-bank tools on the market. This is especially true as trade finance is often cut from budgets as banks look to limit risk and cut out costly paper procedures and due-diligence requirements.

And due to the current practice of trading on open accounts before goods and services are delivered, the gap in trade finance could worsen in the future as cross-border traders look for more inventive ways to finance their operations, said Dr. Kerstin Braun with trade finance solutions provider Stenn.