UOB leads consortium of banks in collaboration with SGTraDex to set thestandards for the digitalisation of green trade financeConsortium of banks driving industry efforts includes DBS, OCBC Bank, Standard Chartered and UOBInitiative aims to enable effective, data-driven decision-making for clear and consistentgreen trade financing standards across industries
Singapore, 9 November 2021 – Singapore Trade Data Exchange (SGTraDex) and a UOB-led consortiumof four major commercial banks in Singapore today announced an initiative to develop digital solutions forthe application of clear and consistent green trade financing standards across industries. The initiative aims
to enable effective, data-driven decision-making around environmental, social and governance (ESG)
factors so that banks can better support their clients’ green trade financing needs. This serves to support
Singapore’s role as a leading green trade finance hub regionally and globally.

UOB, as a member of Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT),
leads this industry initiative with SGTraDex. The participating banks include DBS, OCBC Bank andStandard Chartered. Piloting with key industries such as agriculture as well as real estate and construction,
the initiative is conducted in partnership with the MAS Project Greenprint1 and will start in end November
2021. It seeks to facilitate a more seamless and trusted ESG data exchange between financial institutions
and the projects they are financing in the real economic sectors.

When completed, the initiative will create a transparent green trade financing data exchange model
facilitated by SGTraDex infrastructure for banks to validate required green certification data residing withina centralised repository. This allows banks to extend green trade financing to qualified supply chain players
in the areas of production, trading or distribution through a more simplified process and in a timelier manner.
This initiative will build capabilities for the banking industry to make trade-based green financing more
readily available and accessible in the market.
Mr Antoine Cadoux, Chief Executive Officer, SGTraDex said, “As a data exchange infrastructure,
SGTraDex recognises the critical importance of connectivity and has made strides towards enabling this1 Please refer to MAS webpage, https://www.mas.gov.sg/development/fintech/Green-FinTech, for more information

on Project Greenprint.
1connectivity across the supply chain and trading ecosystem in Singapore. We are excited about theopportunity to work with Project Greenprint and a UOB-led consortium of banks on bringing thistransformative digital change to the green trade finance space by facilitating data exchange andencouraging widespread adoption of ESG standards. This initiative will enable empirical decision-making
around green and sustainability-linked trade financing which is crucial to bolstering Singapore’s role as agreen trade finance hub.”Ms So Lay Hua, Head of Group Transaction Banking, UOB, said, “With SGTraDex, UOB is playing a keyrole in supporting our clients by connecting buyers, distributors and suppliers digitally. The initiative comes
after UOB pioneered the provision of green trade finance facilities under GFIT’s Green and Sustainable
Trade Finance and Working Capital Framework earlier this year. A more transparent and efficient process
will help businesses advance their green initiatives and strengthen their supply chain resilience. This will
help boost the sustainability of Singapore’s supply chains and reinforce the country’s status as a green
trade finance hub. The new development will also further drive overall capability-building efforts andencourage more companies to adopt sustainability best practices.”
Mr Lim Soon Chong, Group Head of Global Transaction Banking, DBS, said, “Greater demand for green
trade finance is expected with sustainability on the agenda of governments, corporates and individuals
globally. This initiative aligns with DBS’ broader efforts to support our corporate customers in their transitionstrategies to achieve meaningful decarbonisation through our Sustainable and Transition Finance
Framework and Taxonomy – which is a first by a bank globally. We are confident that the future of tradefinance will gradually become greener, but it will be a journey requiring several iterations with industry
partners to develop robust frameworks and viable solutions. Amongst other initiatives that DBS is involved
in, we are happy to participate in this forward-looking effort.”
Mr Melvyn Low, Head of Global Transaction Banking, OCBC Bank, said, “OCBC is excited to collaborate
with MAS, SGTraDex and Bank partners on this vision of a transparent green trade exchange that connects
stakeholders across the trade value chain and facilitates data access, exchange and validation, to support
our customers’ sustainability goals.”2

Mr Michael Spiegel, Global Head of Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered, said, “Standard Chartered
has been on a journey to support our clients as they transition to net zero and to play our part in making
global trade more sustainable and inclusive. By leveraging data and technology, this initiative presents areal opportunity to set new global standards which will accelerate innovation, growth and development ingreen trade financing to meet the needs of our clients. We look forward to working closely with SGTraDex
and the consortium of banks to take this initiative to new heights and further cement Singapore’s leading
position as a global and regional green trade finance hub.”
Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, MAS said, “MAS is happy to partner SGTraDex, UOB, DBS,
OCBC Bank and Standard Chartered in this initiative to digitalise green trade finance. This initiative will
demonstrate the interoperability of the Project Greenprint and SGTraDex data platforms, to enable trusted
data exchange flows between the financial sector and real economy sectors, to bolster a transparent andefficient green digital economy.”– EndsAbout SGTraDex
SGTraDex, which stands for Singapore Trade Data Exchange, is a digital infrastructure that facilitates trusted and secure sharingof data between supply chain ecosystem partners. SGTraDex was built from a strong public-private partnership as a result of theSingapore Together Alliance for Action (AfA) on Supply Chain Digitalization. SGTraDex aims to streamline information flows
across a fragmented global supply chain ecosystem through a common data highway with the vision to transform how data isexchanged, to push the frontiers of supply chain digitalization and to build a strong and robust supply chain ecosystem forinternational trade flows.

About UOB
United Overseas Bank Limited (UOB) is a leading bank in Asia with a global network of around 500 branches and offices in 19
countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Europe and North America. Since its incorporation in 1935, UOB has grown organically andthrough a series of strategic acquisitions. UOB is rated among the world’s top banks: Aa1 by Moody’s Investors Service and AAby both S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings. In Asia, UOB operates through its head office in Singapore and banking subsidiaries
in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as branches and representative offices across the region.

Over more than eight decades, generations of UOB employees have carried through the entrepreneurial spirit, the focus on longterm value creation and an unwavering commitment to do what is right for our customers and our colleagues.

We believe in being a responsible financial services provider and we are committed to making a difference in the lives of ourstakeholders and in the communities in which we operate. Just as we are dedicated to helping our customers manage their finances3

wisely and to grow their businesses, UOB is steadfast in our support of social development, particularly in the areas of art, children
and education.

For media queries, please contact:
SGTraDex
Thaw Yee Leng
Head of Market Development
Email: yeeleng.thaw@sgtradex.com

UOBChong Koh Ping
Group Strategic Communications and Brand
Email: Chong.KohPing@uobgroup.com
Tel: (65) 6539 3972

4