THE Penang government is in the midst of establishing the Penang Digital Free Trade Zone (DFTZ) to support trade facilitation.
State Domestic and International Trade, Consumer Affairs and Entrepreneur Development Committee chairman Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain said the Penang government would be collaborating with an established multi-award-winning data technology provider Fusionex to spearhead the DFTZ initiative.
Abdul Halim said that Fusionex specialised in analytics, Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, and trade facilitation.
“The state and Fusionex will be signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by the end of this month.
“The project which has been planned for some time now will be one of the Penang2030 vision key projects.
“The Penang DFTZ platform will provide easier and frictionless trade, as well as revolutionise international trade by removing unnecessary barriers, inefficiencies and wastage.
“It will also holistically connect a multitude of players to one another; from marketplaces to seaports, airports, freight forwarders, government agencies, Customs, logistics providers, warehouses, trucking, cargo insurance, banks, business merchants and other agencies.
“It will allow faster data communication between the various parties and help exchange structured and unstructured data more quickly and accurately,” he told a press conference in Komtar today.
Abdul Halim said the platform would utilise Internet of Things (IoT) or data sensors to track goods movement and augment operations performance.
“Big Data Analytics will be used to provide valuable insights on imports, exports, transhipments, global benchmarks, trends, forecasts and global consumer demands.
“The initiative will streamline the chain of domestic and international trade, dramatically shortening the time needed for the entire trade facilitation process for Penang.
“It would ultimately realise Penang’s potential to be a hub for smart trade facilitation and intelligent logistics,” he added.
Story by Christopher Tan
Pix by Alissala Thian