HeveaConnect completes investment by Itochu Coporation of Japan, Rolls Out HeveaPRO into PT Aneka Bumi Pratama.
SINGAPORE, 4 March 2019 – HeveaConnect announced today that one of Japan’s largest trading companies, ITOCHU Corporation of Japan (ITOCHU), has completed its investment into HeveaConnect. ITOCHU has now joined the region’s largest bank, DBS Bank Ltd (DBS) and Halcyon Agri Corporation Ltd (Halcyon), the world’s leading natural rubber supply chain manager, as key partners of the platform for sustainable natural rubber.
In addition to the investment, Itochu’s wholly owned subsidiary, PT Aneka Bumi Pratama (ABP) of Indonesia has adopted the HeveaPro framework for the processing of natural rubber which covers over 1,200 audit points in Quality Assurance, Environment, Health & Safety, Supply Chain Security, Social Responsibility and Preventive Maintenance.
Lee Chee Meng, HeveaConnect’s Director for Industrial Standards said “We are excited to roll out the HeveaPro framework to ABP’s two factories in Palembang and Jambi and look forward to working closely with the ABP team to get their factories certified by TÜV SÜD. HeveaConnect has an industrial standards council structure in place that allows stakeholders in the HeveaConnect community to nominate a committee member to evolve and co-develop the HeveaPro standards. We expect HeveaPro to be the leading industrial sustainability and quality standard for natural rubber as more stakeholders join the platform.”
HeveaConnect is a supply chain platform that sources, integrates and analyses valuable data for natural rubber stakeholders. Our key products are GROW – agronomical standards and training, TRACE – raw material traceability, PRO – factory management systems, and CONNECT – a bespoke price discovery and reporting platform. We help our customers deliver a sustainable product while striving to improve the livelihoods of millions of smallholders by connecting them to the global economy that depend on their natural rubber.
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About ITOCHU
ITOCHU Corporation, one of the leading sogo shosha with approximately 110 bases in 63 countries, is engaging in domestic trading, import/export, and overseas trading of various products such as textile, machinery, metals, minerals, energy, chemicals, food, general products, realty, information and communications technology, and finance, as well as business investment in Japan and overseas. For more information, please visit https://www.itochu.co.jp/en/index.html.
About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings are among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named “Global Bank of the Year” by The Banker and “Best Bank in the World” by Global Finance. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. In addition, DBS has been accorded the “Safest Bank in Asia” award by Global Finance for ten consecutive years from 2009 to 2018.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of our 26,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.
About Halcyon Agri
Halcyon Agri (SGX: 5VJ) is a leading supply chain franchise of natural rubber with a production capacity of 1.63 million metric tonnes per annum. The Group owns 38 processing factories in most major rubber producing origins and produces sustainable natural rubber under the audited HeveaPro brand. The Group leverages its extensive network of warehouses, terminals, laboratories and sales offices across the world to distribute a range of natural rubber grades, latex and specialised rubber for the tyre and non-tyre industries. Halcyon Agri is headquartered in Singapore and has about 17,000 employees located in over 50 countries. Please visit us at www.halcyonagri.com.
About HeveaConnect
HeveaConnect brings you the future of commodities trading. We are at the forefront of digitalising the natural rubber supply chain across the globe to create a data-enriched, technology-powered ecosystem. This digital transformation enables deeper analysis of the supply chain to uncover environmental, social and financial risks allowing targeted interventions.
At HeveaConnect, we use technology to enable data transparency and strengthen trust. We provide industry intelligence and insights to empower our customers to make smarter decisions. We strive to identify issues and deliver solutions that will redefine how commodities are produced and traded.
For more information, please visit www.heveaconnect.com.
Media Contact: info@heveaconnect.com