Authors

A global ID system that could revolutionize finance

GLEIF will be a critically important contribution to help realize many of the current developments in fintech, and to spur more growth in cross-border trade.

Steven Beck

Good Brothers Machineries Company at the Mandalay Industrial Zone in Myanmar.

ADB Trade Finance Program ready for 2016 trade challenges

2015 was already tough, and we're moving into the new year with few signs that trade will pick up – but our team is enthusiastic about tackling 2016 challenges.

Steven Beck

Asia’s vaunted supply chains will be put to the test by COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Photo: ADB

Asia’s fabled supply chains to be tested by COVID-19 vaccine delivery

The enormous logistical challenge of vaccine distribution will be aided by trade and supply chain finance guarantees.

Steven Beck

In a blockchain, each block is “chained” to the previous one in a peer-to-peer data sharing network.

Blockchain pilots making waves in developing Asia

Peer-to-peer data sharing is being tested in Georgia, Cambodia, Indonesia, and Myanmar.

Alisa DiCaprio, Steven Beck

Paper-based trade is hobbling international trade in many countries. Photo: Wesley Tingey

Can the pandemic help end the paper chase that is hobbling international trade?

Paper-based trade is a drag on the efficiency of the global trading system. Digitization will make trade and supply chains more robust, and the world more secure.

Steven Beck

Digitizing trade – how changing the process is changing development

Public open trading windows, smart contracts, or government-issued e-currency are just a few examples of how digitization is changing how people trade.

Steven Beck, Alisa DiCaprio

During the pandemic, the supply chains that move medical goods and keep the world fed are under duress. Photo: iStock

Even with borders closing, we need to keep trade flowing

The COVID-19 pandemic underscores the need to support trade to not only move medical supplies but also to bolster economies

Steven Beck

Efforts to curb money laundering should not impinge on the economic activities of legitimate businesses, particularly in developing countries. Photo: Mufid Majnun

Fix money-laundering reporting requirements to stifle crime, boost trade

Improving the reporting system to deter money laundering and the financing of terrorism will make it easier to track down those using the global financial system for nefarious ends, while easing restraints on legitimate trade.

Steven Beck, Catherine Estrada