• ICICI Bank was the banker to AM/NS India to digitally execute the international trade transaction
   

ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) recently completed the first ever eDocs transaction involving iron ore pellet export from India, executed using essDOCS’ CargoDocs platform.

The transaction involved the sale of iron ore pellets by AM/NS India to Trafigura Group Pte. Ltd. under a letter of credit, supported by ICICI Bank, the first Indian bank to join the CargoDocs network. ICICI Bank acted as advising bank on behalf of AM/NS India and NAB (Singapore Branch) acted as issuing bank on behalf of Trafigura, for cargo shipped from Paradip Port, India to a major port in China.

The eDocs flow commenced with online collaborative drafting and approval between the shipper, agent and carrier, using CargoDocs. The electronic Bill of Lading (eB/L) was electronically signed and issued by the agent (on behalf of the carrier) to the shipper, AM/NS India. AM/NS subsequently added and signed the supporting documents.

Thereafter, AM/NS endorsed and electronically presented the documents to its advising bank, ICICI Bank. Post processing of the documents, ICICI Bank endorsed them in favour of NAB (Singapore Branch) who further endorsed the same to Trafigura Group to complete the final leg of the transaction.

Through discounting of the bill, ICICI Bank also provided working capital to AM/NS.
 
Transaction highlights included:

• First ever eDocs transaction involving iron ore export out of India, and the first use of CargoDocs for iron ore export by AM/NS India (Note: AM/NS India has been live on CargoDocs for steel exports out of India since October 2021)
• First ever eDocs transaction between AM/NS India and Trafigura Group
• First use of CargoDocs by ICICI Bank
• Secure, online real-time collaboration between the carrier, agents, seller, buyer, and banks: to draft, approve, sign, issue, transfer and electronically present the original electronic Bill of Lading (eB/L), plus relevant supporting documents – slashing document turnaround time to hours compared to days required in a traditional, paper-based transaction
   

Commenting on the recent transaction, Mr. Dilip Oommen, CEO, AM/NS India, said: “ The move to onboard essDOCS for executing the first ever such transaction from India is in line with AM/NS India’s endeavor to be the leader in digitization of sale and financial transactions.”