Singapore's National Trade Platform wins International Award for best e-Business Digital Initiative
The National Trade Platform (NTP) project led by Singapore Customs and the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) has emerged the winner in the e-business category of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2017 [1]
The WSIS Prizes recognise outstanding digital projects [2] worldwide which foster socio-economic development across categories such as e-government, e-environment, e-science and media. The winners of the 18 categories were announced on 13 Jun 2017 at the annual WSIS Forum held in Geneva, Switzerland.
This is the first time that a digital initiative from Singapore has won in any of the 18 categories of the WSIS Prizes since the inception of these prizes in 2012. The NTP beat four other projects to come up tops in the e-business category. Receiving the award for the NTP were Mr Ho Chee Pong, Director-General, Singapore Customs, and Mr Tan Eng Pheng, Senior Director (Clusters Group), GovTech.
Currently being developed, the NTP – which will replace the existing TradeNet® [3] and TradeXchange® systems – is a one-stop next-generation trade information management platform to support companies in the trade and logistics industry and adjacent sectors such as trade finance. The NTP will be progressively rolled out from end-2017.
The NTP will help businesses to streamline work processes, reduce inefficiencies of manual trade document exchange, and leverage data analytics for insights from their trade data, so as to be well-equipped for the digital economy.
In August 2016, the NTP was also conferred the best Smart City Project under the Economic Development category of the International Data Corporation’s (IDC) 2016 Smart City/Asia Pacific Awards (SCAPA).
Please refer to Annex A for a quote from the CEO & Founder, CommGate.
[1] The World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) is a global summit under the United Nations (UN) that seeks to build a people-centric, inclusive and development-oriented Information Society. The WSIS Prizes is an international contest to evaluate and recognise individuals, governments, civil society, local, regional and international agencies, research institutions and private-sector companies for outstanding success in implementing development-oriented strategies that leverage on ICT as an enabler of development.
[2] The four other projects are “eTrade for All” from Switzerland, “LABORA” from Mexico, “Intelligent Waiter Robot” from Pakistan and “Online Administrative Executive Service” from Saudi Arabia.
[3] TradeNet® was launched in 1989. It is Singapore’s single trade permit clearing house, incorporating Whole-Of-Government (WOG) trade regulatory requirements. Through TradeNet®, importers, exporters and freight forwarders can make B2G transactions such as the declaration of permits. TradeXchange® was launched in 2007. It is a secure and neutral IT platform which enables exchanges of trade and logistics documents and data amongst private sector companies, as well as with the Government.
JOINTLY ISSUED BY GOVERNMENT TECHNOLOGY AGENCY OF SINGAPORE AND SINGAPORE CUSTOMS
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About Government Technology Agency of Singapore
The Government Technology Agency of Singapore (GovTech) is a statutory board formed in October 2016 after the restructuring of the Infocomm Development Authority.
GovTech works with public agencies to develop and deliver secure digital services and applied technology to individuals and businesses in Singapore. GovTech builds key platforms and solutions needed to support Singapore as a Smart Nation. As a leading centre for information communications technology and related engineering such as the Internet of Things, GovTech also enhances the capabilities of the Singapore Government in these domains.
For more information, please visit tech.gov.sg or follow us on Facebook.com/GovTechSG and Twitter @GovTechSG.
About Singapore Customs
Singapore Customs – a department under the Ministry of Finance – is the lead agency for trade facilitation and revenue enforcement. We facilitate Singapore’s external trade through active engagement with businesses, robust regulations and effective enforcement. Besides ensuring a fair, competitive and level playing field for traders, we also safeguard Government revenue. We take firm enforcement action against those who attempt to evade duties and taxes by making fraudulent declarations or bringing in contraband goods. Our vision is to be a leading Customs that advances Singapore’s economy by assuring the integrity of the trading system. For more information, please visit www.customs.gov.sg
For media clarification
TAN Boon Leng (Mr)
Manager, Communications and Marketing Group
Government Technology Agency
DID: (65) 6211 0375
Email: TAN_Boon_Leng@tech.gov.sg
TOH Shi Ting (Ms)
Senior Corporate Communications Officer
Singapore Customs
DID: (65) 6355 2165
Email: TOH_shi_ting@customs.gov.sg