Trade finance in APAC is being reshaped by supply chains that are no longer rebuilt around a single alternative to China. They are spreading across ASEAN, India and other markets at once, and that changes what corporates need from their banks. For ING, the answer is a trade finance business that follows clients across several jurisdictions and sits inside their workflows, rather than one that sells instruments one market at a time.
The old tools have not gone away. Ashish Kohli says documentary trade has re-emerged over the past 18 to 24 months, as companies entering new corridors lean on letters of credit and guarantees while trust is still being built. What has changed is where those products sit: increasingly inside platforms, ERP systems and supply chain ecosystems.
Ashish Kohli, Head, Trade Finance Commercial Product Management APAC, ING, spoke with Digital Trade Outlook about how trade finance in APAC is evolving amid geopolitical uncertainty, how platforms and ecosystem partnerships are reshaping the business, where data and AI are having tangible impact, how banks balance innovation with compliance, and the priorities driving ING’s trade finance strategy in the region.
Inside ING’s strategy for trade finance in APAC
Digital Trade Outlook: From your perspective, how is trade finance evolving across APAC, particularly in the context of rising geopolitical uncertainty and supply chain shifts?
Ashish Kohli, Head, Trade Finance Commercial Product Management APAC, ING: Trade finance in APAC is undergoing a significant transformation. While geopolitical tensions, tariff uncertainty and supply chain realignments are creating complexity, they are also generating new opportunities for the trade ecosystem across corporates. The narrative is now evolving from “China+1” to “China + Many”. What we are witnessing is the emergence of more diversified supply chains. Whether it is truly interconnected, we have to wait and watch. Manufacturing footprints are expanding across ASEAN, India, and other parts of Asia, while China continues to remain a critical component of global production networks. Companies are increasingly building resilience through multi-country sourcing, diversified supplier bases and more flexible treasury and funding structures.
As trade corridors evolve, clients are looking for banking partners that can support cross-border working capital, liquidity, and risk management across multiple jurisdictions rather than in a single market. Traditional trade products such as letters of credit and guarantees remain highly relevant in APAC, particularly given the region’s diverse regulatory environments and heightened counterparty risk considerations. At the same time, open-account solutions, receivables finance, supply chain finance and risk distribution structures are growing rapidly as corporates seek greater capital efficiency and risk management.
From ING’s perspective, the evolution of trade finance is also reinforcing the importance of an industry-led approach. For example, technology manufacturers are redesigning semiconductor and electronics supply chains, energy transition investments are creating entirely new ecosystems around batteries, renewables, and critical minerals, while industrial and consumer sectors are rebalancing sourcing strategies across some key APAC markets.
Platform-based models and ecosystem partnerships are becoming more prominent. How do you see this reshaping trade finance over the next few years?
We are moving from a product-centric model to an ecosystem-centric model. Historically, trade finance was delivered largely through bilateral bank-client relationships. Today, clients increasingly expect banking services to be embedded within their operational workflows. This is driving the growth of digital trade platforms, procurement networks, receivables marketplaces, logistics ecosystems and ERP integrations. In the future, corporates will interact less with individual products and more with integrated ecosystems where financing, payments, trade execution, compliance, and data exchange happen seamlessly. Platforms have emerged and are creating value for corporates by offering multi-bank and standard documentation structures.
For trade finance, this means greater emphasis on API connectivity, digital onboarding, platform-enabled supply chain finance, receivables ecosystems and collaboration with fintechs, logistics providers and digital trade platforms. It also means getting comfortable with the data, fraud and compliance risk that banks are now additionally exposed to. At ING, we see significant potential in platform-led supply chain finance models in APAC and broader ecosystem partnerships that simplify client journeys while expanding access to working capital solutions. Ultimately, the competitive advantage will come not only from providing financing but from being present at the point where trade activity originates.
Data and AI are often discussed as key enablers. Where are you seeing tangible impact today within trade finance?
The conversation around AI has moved well beyond proof-of-concept discussions. We are already seeing tangible benefits across multiple dimensions of trade finance.
The most immediate impact is operational efficiency within operations teams. Trade finance remains heavily document-intensive, involving invoices, transport documents, customs declarations, and compliance checks. AI and intelligent document processing are helping automate document review, identify discrepancies more quickly and reduce manual intervention, improving both turnaround times and accuracy. As ING expands trade finance capabilities across APAC, we are investing in reducing manual intervention in document-intensive processes and standardising operational models across markets. This helps accelerate onboarding, improve transaction processing times and create a more scalable operating model for trade finance. Having said that, our experienced document checking departments eventually use their organisational and industry experience to take a final view.
The second area is risk management. AI and advanced analytics enable more sophisticated anomaly detection, transaction monitoring, and fraud identification. They can also support sanctions screening, KYC reviews and early-warning indicators across supply chains. ING’s own discussions around automation and analytics have focused heavily on improving risk management and client experience simultaneously. We are also seeing growing use of data and analytics to strengthen risk management. As trade flows become more interconnected across multiple jurisdictions, digital information can support more effective sanctions screening, KYC reviews, transaction monitoring and early identification of potential risks. This includes a combination of externally developed and internal tools.
A third area is client insights. With richer transaction data, banks can better understand trade flows, anticipate working capital needs, and offer more proactive and tailored solutions. Over time, data-driven advisory capabilities may become as valuable as the financing itself.
The real opportunity lies at the intersection of operational efficiency, risk intelligence, and client value creation.
With increasing regulatory scrutiny and risk considerations, how are banks balancing innovation with compliance and risk management?
Innovation and risk management should not be viewed as competing priorities. In trade finance, they are increasingly becoming two sides of the same coin.
Trade finance operates at the intersection of multiple regulatory requirements, including sanctions, AML, KYC and prudential capital standards. At the same time, supply chains are becoming more fragmented, involving a larger number of counterparties, countries and trade corridors. As complexity increases, maintaining transparency and control becomes both more challenging and more important.
From ING’s perspective, the objective is not merely to digitise existing processes, but to use digitalisation to improve both client experience and risk outcomes. For example, electronic trade documentation, data-based transaction monitoring and automated screening tools can help reduce manual processes while providing greater transparency over underlying trade flows.
Ultimately, the institutions that will succeed are not necessarily those that innovate the fastest, but those that can combine innovation with strong governance, regulatory discipline and client trust. In today’s environment, resilience has become just as important as efficiency.
What are the key priorities for trade finance leaders in APAC over the next 12 to 24 months?
What clients increasingly value is not necessarily expertise and guidance on a specific trade finance product, but advice on how to build resilient supply chains, risk management and financing solutions. Our role is to help clients navigate those challenges and structure the right financing solutions around them. The products used are often the result of that discussion. Against this backdrop, I would highlight three priorities for trade finance leaders over the next 12 to 24 months.
- Supporting shifting trade corridors: helping clients navigate evolving supply chains and new trade routes across Asia and globally.
- Accelerating digitalisation (using AI where applicable): investing in digital channels, APIs, workflow integration and platform connectivity to improve client experience and operational efficiency.
- Building resilience: maintaining strong compliance, regulatory governance and operational robustness amid growing complexity.
Eventually, the intent is to build a high ROE business by supporting clients across evolving supply chains, expanding working capital solutions and leveraging digitalisation to improve efficiency and scalability.
ING has been actively strengthening its trade finance capabilities across APAC. Could you share some of the key focus areas or strategic priorities driving this?
One key priority is supporting the changing trade landscape across Asia. As supply chains diversify beyond traditional manufacturing hubs, we are seeing increased activity across ASEAN, India and other emerging trade corridors. Clients increasingly need banking partners that can support complex cross-border trade, liquidity and risk management requirements across multiple markets. Our focus is therefore on combining ING’s international network, sector expertise and local market capabilities to support clients wherever these new trade flows emerge.
What our clients like the most about us is how we bring our industry-led approach to trade finance, working in parallel with our industry bankers. Different sectors are experiencing supply chain transformation in different ways. Whether it is electronics and semiconductors, energy transition and battery supply chains, commodities, infrastructure, consumer goods or industrial manufacturing, clients are increasingly looking for solutions tailored to their specific value chains and working capital needs.
One trend we have seen in the last 18 to 24 months is that documentary trade is re-emerging once again. The trust-building exercise in the new and evolving supply chain corridors will take time, and this is where documentary trade products are useful. While open-account trade continues to expand, we continue to see strong demand for traditional trade instruments such as letters of credit, guarantees and structured trade solutions, particularly in sectors, countries, and corridors where risk mitigation remains critical.
We believe the future of trade finance will be increasingly ecosystem-driven rather than product-driven. Clients want financing to be integrated into their operational workflows through digital platforms, ERP systems and supply chain ecosystems. As a result, we are investing in digital channels, platform partnerships and workflow connectivity that simplify onboarding, improve transaction visibility and create a more seamless client experience. We also see significant potential in platform-enabled supply chain finance and broader ecosystem partnerships that allow financing, payments and trade data to interact more efficiently.
Ultimately, our ambition is to position ING as a leading network bank for trade finance in APAC, helping clients navigate changing trade corridors, support supply chain resilience and unlock working capital opportunities through a combination of sector expertise, digital capabilities and innovative financing solutions.
Read more conversations with transaction banking leaders in our Executive Voice series.
The conversation continues
Join the discussion on LinkedIn
Digital Trade Outlook shared this interview with Ashish Kohli on LinkedIn. Read what peers are saying and add your view.
Join the discussion on LinkedIn ↗