Supply chain shifts force Asia finance overhaul

Corporates are forging new regional and digital partnerships as Asia Pacific supply chains diversify beyond China.

As global supply chains splinter, Asia Pacific — responsible for nearly 40% of world trade — are being forced to rethink trade finance strategies, shifting away from China-centric models toward diversified networks, regional partnerships, and digital ecosystems to stay resilient.

“The biggest beneficiaries of these were countries of South and Southeast Asia. That trend obviously has accelerated in recent months,” said Shivkumar Seerapu, Head of Transaction Services, Asia Pacific, ING.

According to Seerapu, companies are now prioritising strategic partnerships to stay competitive. “They have realised that in these times, they need strategic partnerships more than ever before. Not just relying on their strong domestic home bank, but having partnerships with regional banks who can serve them and support them in multiple countries across the region.”

He added that relationships with banks offer a “global perspective with an international network to advise when risk mitigation, liquidity solutions, that's been important.”

Digitalisation is emerging as a core pillar of these shifts. “Obviously, digital partnerships have become very, very important as companies now source and manufacture from multiple jurisdictions to diversify away from single geography… being able to digitally and at real time get visibility over their supply chain, transparency over their transaction processing, their liquidity risk management, has become very, very important,” Seerapu said.

He pointed to Singapore’s digital trade initiatives as a model. “Initiatives like TradeTrust, for example, initiatives like the EU Singapore digital trade agreement… encourage interoperable frameworks, enhance digital ecosystems to function seamlessly across borders… while accelerating innovation in the use of AI, the use of digital identity,” he said. “Singapore's position as a very important transit hub in marine trade becomes even more important.”

Seerapu said Asia offers lessons in resilience through digital acceleration, geographic diversification, and financial agility. “This confluence of banks, fintechs, nationally supported infrastructure, rails… has improved transparency, improved real time visibility for corporations… and has enabled banks, fintechs and corporates to prosper together.”