Trade finance platform FundPark helps cross-border e-commerce merchants grow their business

FundPark Limited, a leading Asia-based trade finance platform committed to facilitating the growth of the cross-border e-commerce sector by providing convenient, readily available financing solutions, will provide financing to merchants that are part of Cainiao Network through its new relationship with Ant Bank Macau in a move to prepare them for the upcoming Singles’ Day, the most important shopping day of the year in the Greater China e-commerce sector.

By using FundPark’s innovative online FinTech platform and effective risk model, several institutional investors have provided high-quality funds and efficient financing services to cross-border e-commerce merchants. The platform’s funders include different types of institutional investors, including global fixed-income funds, leading asset management firms, family offices and banks. The partnership with Ant Bank Macau coupled with the industry leading trade asset-based finance solutions in cooperation with traditional banks will allow FundPark to provide timely financing to cross-border e-commerce merchants so they can prepare for the upcoming shopping season. FundPark believes that the platform will benefit merchants by supplying them with more efficient and convenient products and services through collaboration with FinTech companies, creating a win-win situation for both merchants and lenders.

“FundPark keeps an open mind to different collaborative models, whether the partner is a traditional bank, a virtual bank or even an asset management company,” said FundPark co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Anson Suen. “We expect to meet the short-term capital needs of cross-border e-commerce merchants by providing them with appropriate and efficient financing solutions while continuously delivering satisfactory returns to institutional investors by optimizing our risk assessment model and online financing platform.”

Shopping habits have shifted significantly as a result of the challenges associated with the Covid-19 pandemic, driving the rapid growth of the e-commerce sector. Of note, the Hong Kong government, in cooperation with electronic payment operators, is distributing HK$5000 (approx. US$650) in digital coupons that can be used for online shopping to each eligible Hongkonger as part of its efforts to boost the growth of the domestic consumption market. This move is bound to stimulate the expansion of the e-commerce sector, particularly the cross-border segment, while driving the popularization of electronic payments and facilitating online transactions. According to data from market research firm eMarketer, the cross-border e-commerce market has promising prospects with worldwide retail sales anticipated to grow 27.6 per cent to US$4.28 trillion over the next three to five years. Most notably, China is expected to become the first country in the world where retail sales from online stores exceed those from physical stores, with online sales anticipated to account for 52.1 per cent of the total in 2021.

E-commerce giant JD.com booked sales of 343.8 billion yuan (approx. US$51.5 billion) during China’s most recent 18-day 6.18 shopping holiday. According to historical sales data, Taobao generally posts sales during the Singles’ Day shopping period that are substantially higher than those recorded for each of the remaining months of the year. With this in mind, FundPark aims to ease the working capital pressure which cross-border e-commerce merchants face by providing efficient cash flow strategies that help them to deliver better performance in terms of sales during shopping periods. To help merchants prepare for the upcoming Singles’ Day, FundPark will provide targeted financing solutions that meet their short-term capital needs while fueling growth in their performance by helping them take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the shopping season. This, in turn, will support the steady growth of the cross-border e-commerce market.

FundPark has been highly recognized by industry players for its competence, with its partners including Alibaba’s logistics unit Cainiao, alongside other e-commerce platforms, banks and mainstream payment platforms in mainland China. FundPark has fulfilled its commitment to the cross-border e-commerce market by providing financing products that satisfy the capital needs of customers, including cross-border e-commerce merchants specializing in imports or exports. Going forward, the company plans to create an ecosystem that benefits both merchants and institutional investors by leveraging innovative FinTech solutions to facilitate the supply of financing services to e-commerce merchants.