The 39th TEI Opportunities to Expand Business Networks and Exports to Global Markets

TANGERANG, Indonesia, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Director General of National Export Development Mardyana Listyowati revealed that exports are one of the pillars supporting the improvement of the national economy. To that end, the Ministry of Trade continues to encourage the growth of national non-oil and gas export performance, one of which is by holding the 39^th Trade Expo Indonesia, hosted by Ministry Of Trade and Organize by Debindomulti Adhiswasti and scheduled for October 9-12, 2024. The Ministry of Trade invites domestic exporters to take advantage of this opportunity by participating to expand their business networks and capture the global market.

This was conveyed by Mardyana while serving as a speaker at the Press Conference for the Trade Expo Indonesia at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition (ICE) Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD), in Tangerang Regency, Banten, on Tuesday, September 17. Present as other speakers were Heru Prihantoro – Vice President Government Business Head Region IV of Bank Mandiri, Vibiadhi Swasti Pradana – President Director of PT Debindomulti Adhiswasti, and Ratu Rima Novia Rahma – Vice President of Marketing & Communication at Privy.

"We invite domestic exporters to take advantage of this opportunity by participating in TEI 2024 to expand their business networks and seize export opportunities in the global market," said Mardyana. Mardyana stated that this year, TEI has adopted the theme "Build Strong Connection with the Best of Indonesia." This theme serves as a link to last year's theme, "Sustainable Trade for Global Economic Resilience."

"It is hoped that this year's theme will strengthen trade connections and serve as a swift step to penetrate export markets and enhance Indonesia's export performance," said Mardyana.

Furthermore, Mardyana explained that TEI adopts a business-to-business (B2B) concept, allowing Indonesian exporters to meet face-to-face and interact directly with potential buyers from abroad. At TEI 2024, the Ministry of Trade targets transactions amounting to USD 15 billion from 1,000 participants. This annual exhibition will be attended by 5,000 buyers from around the world as well as 30,000 visitors, both domestic and international.

This largest exhibition in Indonesia is divided into three product zones: Food, Beverage, and Agricultural Products; Manufactured Products; and Home Living, Fashion, and Services. In addition to the exhibition, the 39^th TEI will be enlivened by various activities, including business matching, business counseling, international seminars, live performances, and buyers night.

"TEI serves as a platform to promote value-added export products." The organization of the TEI is expected to encourage export penetration to countries that have not been optimally targeted, thereby boosting non-oil and gas export performance amid the challenges of a global economic slowdown," explained Mardyana.

Mardyana also revealed that, like the previous year, the 39^th TEI is scheduled to be opened by President Joko Widodo. The opening ceremony was also enlivened by the presentation of the Primaniyarta and Primaduta Awards, which are the highest honors given by the Indonesian government to the best- performing exporters and importers.

"In addition, this year, the Ministry of Trade is holding the TEI Journalist Award, which is presented to media personnel supporting exports," emphasized Mardyana.

Mardyana added that during the 39^th TEI event, the Jakarta Muslim Fashion Week (JMFW) 2025 will be held in hall 10. JMFW is one of the government's priority programs to make Indonesia a global center for modest fashion.

What's different about this year's event is that TEI is presenting a Halal Products Pavilion in hall 2 under the title "Halal Expo." In addition, to provide a different atmosphere, TEI is organizing an international seminar titled "ASEAN Sustainability Conference" featuring experts from abroad. This seminar addresses themes including "Net Zero Transition; Sustainable Electric Vehicles; Circular Economy; and Global Supply Chains."

"To enhance the national economy, concrete steps are needed, one of which is to maintain the performance of non-oil and gas exports. The organization of the TEI is expected to improve export performance through diversification and expansion of export markets, as well as to introduce Indonesia's image as a country that produces value-added products of superior quality," added Mardyana.

Meanwhile, Heru stated that Bank Mandiri, as a financial institution, is committed to supporting Indonesia's economic growth. It is important for Bank Mandiri to serve as a means of international trade transactions with the aim of improving the welfare of the community and strengthening Indonesia's position in international banking. Therefore, Bank Mandiri is very enthusiastic and supports various international trade activities, both export and import trade, including TEI 2024.

Vibiadhi added that by early September 2024, around 750 business actors have registered as participants. It is hoped that this number can increase to over 1,000 participants. On the other hand, the organizers' preparations have reached over 85 percent and are expected to meet the set target in the next two weeks. Ratu also added that the 39^th TEI serves as a collaboration between the Ministry of Trade and Privy for the second time. Privy, which operates in the digital services sector, provides digital signatures for all sellers in Indonesia and international buyers for both online and offline transactions. At TEI 2024, Privy is committed to being an alternative to facilitate registration and transactions, both online and offline.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

The 39th TEI Opportunities to Expand Business Networks and Exports to Global Markets

SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Managed by IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, and supported by the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion, the Global SME Forum 2024 was held in São Paulo, Brazil from September 16 to 18. Leading financial institutions, fintech enterprises, and SME industry experts worldwide joined this annual event to explore the digital-sustainable transitions of SME finance in the age of AI.

WeBank attended the Forum as the only Chinese financial institution invited. At the roundtable sessions on "Navigating the SME Finance Lifecycle from Inception to Maturity" and "Digital Banks: Powering SME Growth," Vincent Zheng, Deputy General Manager of the Corporate Digital Marketing Department at WeBank, addressed the current progress of SME finance in China and WeBank's digital practices in the area.

At the Forum, the Global SME Finance Awards 2024 announced winners of the year. WeBank won the platinum prize of "SME Financier of the Year – Commercial Bank – Global" and "SME Financier of the Year – Asia" for its digital practices in SME finance. With the win of "SME Financier of the Year – Asia," WeBank became the first financial institution to receive the highest recognition under the category in two consecutive years.

From digital credit to full-process service for MSMEs

At the main stage event of "Navigating the SME Finance Lifecycle from Inception to Maturity," SME business executives and representatives of investment institutions from China, Arabia, Cambodia, Nigeria, the United States, and Brazil discussed about local SME financial services, delivering encouraging insights to financial practitioners from emerging financial markets.

In China, there are over 53 million micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), making the nation one of the markets with the most MSME entities. The past decade saw a significant improvement in the coverage, accessibility, and satisfaction of MSME financial services thanks to the development of financial inclusion in China.

"With the rapid advance of data infrastructure in China over the past few years, the interactive mechanisms of bank-tax and bank-business enabled WeBank to integrate the authenticated and authorized third-party credibility data from tax, industry and commerce, credit, justice, electricity, and social security into our risk control systems and business practices. Our online unsecured corporate working capital loan product 'Weiyedai' launched in 2017 has now received applications from over five million MSMEs. Meanwhile, the number of applying enterprises accounts for about 7% of the total number of operating enterprises where we provide services, " said Zheng.

WeBank now has a digital product portfolio and specialized financial services to support MSMEs through a full lifecycle including credit, account management, payment, settlement, trade finance, insurance, and wealth management. 'Weiyedai' also offers supply chain financial services to upstream and downstream enterprises from the supply chains of key industries. For sci-tech enterprises, WeBank integrates a customized service system to comprehensively fulfil their demand for digital operation and sustainable innovation.

AI empowers digital banks to better serve MSMEs

Powered by digitization, digital banking is now a key player in the finance sector. Along with the World Bank Group and fellow fintech enterprises, executives of digital banks from China, Brazil, Cambodia, Nigeria, South Africa, and other emerging markets joined the Forum for a dedicated session on the role of digital banks in empowering SMEs.

WeBank, as the first digital bank in China, utilizes digital tools in big data risk control, accurate reach, and enterprise service to apply digital and intelligent solutions to the full process of MSME financial services. The practice serves as an example of digital inclusive finance with bearable costs, controllable risks, and sustainable business growth.

"WeBank continues to integrate innovative digital solutions into its products and services. For instance, WeBank built a financial large language model to improve the understanding of MSME customers. With a better understanding of these customers, we could optimize the experience and performance of customer service, banking risk control, digital marketing, and operation, in addition to MSME-oriented services such as digital venture capital," as Zheng noted.

About WeBank

Launched in 2014, WeBank Co., Ltd. ("WeBank") is the first digital bank in China. WeBank provides convenient financial services to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and the public, and continuously improves the quality of services in response to customers' specific needs. WeBank now ranks 255 in the Top 1000 World Banks by The Banker.

WeBank focuses on innovation and technology. WeBank has maintained its proportion of technical personnel above 50% since its establishment, while its research and development expenses accounted for around 10% of its revenue. WeBank is now at the top of the industry in core technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, cloud computing and big data.

** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **

WeBank Awarded with SME Financier of the Year in the Global SME Finance Forum 2024