On 28 April 2025, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced the creation of an Expert Panel on Project Cargox. The panel aims to improve the digital ecosystem for trade finance by leveraging cargo data.
Riding on the HKMA’s Commercial Data Interchange (CDI), Project Cargox is a multi-year, public-private collaboration.
It focuses on three key areas. First, Project Cargox leverages cargo data to streamline and enhance trade finance processes. Second, it is developing digital solutions to improve access to trade finance for SMEs. Lastly, Project Cargox is exploring connections with international data partners to support trade financing use cases for banks in Hong Kong.
To meet these goals, the HKMA has set up an Expert Panel. The said panel includes industry experts and key representatives from cargo data providers, trade associations, banks, credit reference agencies, and government agencies.
The Expert Panel will develop a plan to digitise cargo data, covering sea, road, and air transportation, and integrate it with CDI across jurisdictions by the end of 2025. The list of Expert Panel members is in the Annex.
With the guidance and recommendation from the Expert Panel, the HKMA will conduct proof-of-concept (PoC) studies. It will also develop new solutions with partners such as the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) and the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB), as well as pilot banks to improve digital trade finance through the use of cargo data and CDI in 2025 and 2026.
Mr Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of the HKMA, said,
“Leveraging cargo data and our next-generation CDI data infrastructure, Cargox will help resolve some long-standing pain points in trade finance for banks, ultimately boosting efficiency and driving industry-wide innovation.”
Miss Amy Chan, Commissioner for Maritime and Port Development of the Transport and Logistics Bureau, also shared that the bureau is developing the Port Community System for completion by end of this year.
She added that the system would aim to provide cargo track-and-trace across sea, road, and air transport, which is expected to lead the maritime, port, logistics and trading industries to new heights of digitalisation.
Source of image: Edited from HKMA
