TradeLens eBL Facilitates Paperless LC with HSBC and Syngenta

In February 2022, digital platform TradeLens announced successful completion of an LC transacted with HSBC and Syngenta using a digital bill of lading underpinned by blockchain technology.

Citing a 2020 figure from the Digital Container Shipping Association (DCSA) that just 0.1% of original BLs are digitized, TradeLens contends its end-to-end SaaS solution for trade finance transactions will advance original BLs forward in a paperless fashion.

In the milestone LC transaction supporting the shipment of agrichemical product was from South Korea to Bangladesh, all associated documentation was shared among the parties via the TradeLens platform. Contacted by DCW, a representative for TradeLens informed that parties involved in the LC included Syngenta Bangladesh (applicant), Syngenta APAC (beneficiary), HSBC Bangladesh (issuing bank), and HSBC Singapore (beneficiary bank).

Digitized documents included the eBL directly from ocean carrier Sealand – A Maersk Company, the commercial invoice, packing list, certificate of origin, and certificate of analysis, as well as the bank collection documents. According to TradeLens, all documents were “underpinned by blockchain and visible to permissioned parties as soon as they were uploaded to the platform.” Based on the shipment, Syngenta estimated a savings of 10 days in document processing lead time.