Leading international banking group Standard Chartered and supply chain finance technology solution provider in China Linklogis are forming a joint venture to establish Olea, a fully-digitised trade finance origination and distribution platform. Olea aims to bring together institutional investors seeking opportunities in an alternative asset class with businesses requiring supply chain financing, subject to regulatory approval.
Headquartered in Singapore, Olea will be headed by Amelia Ng (SC Ventures, the innovation, fintech and ventures unit of Standard Chartered) as CEO and Letitia Chau (Vice Chairperson and Chief Risk Officer of Linklogis) as deputy CEO.
Olea’s rigorous risk analytics and secure platform offers investors access to investment options for returns that align with their risk profiles. It provides a radically transparent, speedier and hassle-free way to access working capital for supply chain participants regardless of size.
Investors gain access to a full range of trade finance assets globally – and particularly in Asia – with credible insights on asset quality, while supply chains partners can access financing via transparent and frictionless processes.
“The advent and application of emerging technologies have become an important driving force for the global economic transformation, and new technologies are being implemented in many fields such as trade finance and supply chain finance,” said Charles Song, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Linklogis.
Alex Manson, Head of SC Ventures, said: “Trade, and accordingly trade financing, are essential for sustainable economic growth, even more so as businesses emerge from the pandemic and lockdowns. Olea brings together the strengths of Linklogis and Standard Chartered in this space and represents the next generation of supply chain financing, providing transparency and risk assessment of trade assets while fulfilling institutional demand for alternative investments.”
Standard Chartered and Linklogis’ relationship began in February 2019 when both companies signed a memorandum of understanding to explore the co-creation of innovation solutions that will support the supply chain finance ecosystem. They completed their first joint deep-tier supply chain financing transaction in August 2019, and have successfully executed several other award- winning1 transactions to date.
In January 2020, Standard Chartered announced a strategic investment into Linklogis, which marked its first investment in a supply chain platform in China.