meed-logo

line1 line2 line3
SIGN IN / REGISTER

Digitalisation can help close $1tn supply chain finance gap

14 September 2022

  • Global study indicates $1tn gap between available supply chain finance and funds in use
  • Digitalisation of supply chain finance can help unlock opportunities for both buyers and suppliers
  • It enhances visibility and transparency for all those involved, building greater trust in the process
  • Key drivers of such solutions include lenders (banks), fintech providers and buyers (corporates)
  • Digital supply chain finance solutions are expected to constantly evolve in keeping with market requirements

Download the complete briefing here

Digitalisation can help narrow the global gap between available supply chain finance and the funds currently in use, according to Reda Ezzat, senior vice-president – head of trade and structured finance at Mashreq Bank.

“There is a clear opportunity, a gap that we think can be bridged through the use of digital solutions in optimising the access to and implementation of supply chain finance products,” says Ezzat.

Nearly $1.8tn of supply chain finance is available globally, while only $713bn is currently in use, according to estimates by receivables finance analyst BCR Publishing.

Driven by both banks and corporate businesses, digital supply chain finance solutions have seen an increase in adoption in recent years.

“Supply chain finance has been around for a while, but it is really digitalisation of the process that has been the catalyst,” says Ezzat. “Technology has made the product much more viable, especially for corporates with deep and diversified supply chains.”

Studies conducted by McKinsey Global Company in 2020 highlight that more than 60 per cent of the total addressable trade finance market is concentrated in supply chain finance.

McKinsey further estimates that the future potential market for supply-chain finance stands at $17tn. The global gap in trade finance, however, further widened by the Covid-19 pandemic, could hamper access to this pool.

By introducing a technology platform as part of the wider product offering, banks and fintechs are now able to provide a more holistic value proposition that goes beyond merely financing against extended payment terms. 

“Digitalisation allows greater visibility of cash flow, while complementing decision-making processes through the use of data analytics,” says Ezzat. “It also allows businesses to better align with reporting requirements.”

He also emphasises the need for CFOs and treasurers to recognise the value that supply chain finance can bring to the table and work jointly with their procurement partners to build more resilience and sustainability into their business.

“In an environment where the priority is to optimise the cost of finance, the relevant decision-makers must look at the bigger picture,” he says. “It is equally important to inculcate better buyer-supplier relationships, to build a more resilient ecosystem – and digital supply chain finance can be an effective way to do so.”

Click here to download the briefing

https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/10004083/main.gif

Register for MEED's guest program now to access this article.

Click here to register
Exclusive from Meed
Related Articles
  • Saudi Arabia extends bid deadline for solar projects

    6 May 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia’s principal buyer, Saudi Power Procurement Company (SPPC), has extended the deadline for developers bidding for four solar projects under the seventh round of the National Renewable Energy Programme (NREP).

    Round seven of the NREP comprises solar photovoltaic (PV) and wind independent power producer (IPP) projects with a combined capacity of 5,300MW. The renewables programme is being led and supervised by the Ministry of Energy.

    The four solar PV projects comprise:

    • 1,400MW Tabjal 2 solar PV IPP (Tabrijal, Al-Jouf province)
    • 600MW Mawqqaq solar PV IPP (Mawqqaq, Hail province)
    • 600MW Tathleeth solar PV IPP (Tathleeth, Aseer province)
    • 500MW South Al-Ula solar PV IPP (Al-Ula, Medina province)

    The projects were tendered in January, with an initial bid submission deadline of 30 April.

    The new deadline is 30 June.

    The solar projects are the latest in a string of large-scale power and water developments across the region to have bidding extended in recent weeks.

    In the UAE, the bid deadline for the seventh phase of Dubai Electricity & Water Authority’s Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum Solar Park was recently pushed back to 1 July. 

    Bids for the 1,300MW Bilgah and 900MW Shagra wind IPPs are currently still due by 14 May, according to a source.

    In January, MEED reported that 16 developers qualified to bid as both managing and technical members for the four solar PV projects under the seventh round of the NREP.

    These include:

    • Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) 
    • Alfanar Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • Al-Gihaz Holding Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • EDF Power Solutions (France)
    • Kahrabel (Engie) (UAE / France)
    • Sembcorp Utilities (Singapore)
    • Jinko Power (HK) (China)
    • TotalEnergies Renewables (France)
    • Al-Jomaih Energy & Water (Saudi Arabia)
    • Korea Electric Power Corporation (Kepco) (South Korea)
    • Nesma Renewable Energy (Saudi Arabia)
    • Korea Western Power (South Korea)
    • Marubeni Corporation (Japan)
    • SPIC Shanghai Electric Power (China)
    • WahajPeak Holdings (Saudi Arabia)
    • FAS Energy for Trading Company (Saudi Arabia)

    A further six companies qualified to bid as a managing member only for the solar PV projects. These include:

    • Saudi Electricity Company (Saudi Arabia)
    • Grupo Empresarial Enhol (Spain)
    • Power Construction Corporation of China (Power China) (China)
    • GD Power Development (China)
    • Gulf Development Public Company (Thailand)
    • Reliance NU Energies Private (India)

    The renewable energy programme aims to supply 50% of the kingdom’s electricity from renewable energy by 2030.

    Earlier rounds under the NREP have already put in place large capacities. Last October, SPPC awarded contracts to develop and operate five renewable energy projects under round six of the NREP.

    These comprise four solar PV IPP projects and one wind IPP project with a total combined capacity of 4,500MW.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here

     

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16700361/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • EtihadWE awards EPC contract for Fujairah IWP

    6 May 2026

    Etihad Water & Electricity (EtihadWE) has awarded an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for the Fujairah 1 independent water producer (IWP) project.

    The agreement was signed with a consortium of UAE-based NMDC Infra and Spain’s Lantania Aguas. 

    The EPC works will be delivered by Lantania NMDC Water. The company was formed after NMDC Infra acquired a 51% stake in Lantania Aguas in January 2026.

    Fujairah 1 is the second desalination project procured by EtihadWE under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. It follows the 150-million-imperial-gallon-a-day (MIGD) Naqa’a IWP in Umm Al-Quwain.

    The project involves developing a 60 MIGD seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant. The total investment is valued at AED1.046bn ($285m), the utility said in a statement.

    The plant will be located at the Port of Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman and will include storage capacity equivalent to 18 hours of production.

    Construction is expected to take about 30 months. Initial operations will begin at partial capacity, followed by ramp-up to full output.

    Details of the water offtake agreement for Fujairah 1 have not been disclosed. EtihadWE previously signed a 35-year water-purchase agreement for the Naqa’a project.

    Mohammed Al-Shehhi, CEO of the development and investment arm of EtihadWE, said the company is “currently developing multiple SWRO projects to be announced in due course”.

    In January, Dubai International Financial Centre-based Deloitte Professional Services submitted the lowest bid for a contract to provide consultancy services to Dubai Electricity & Water Authority (Dewa) and EtihadWE.

    The contract scope includes conducting a pre-feasibility study for an SWRO IWP and water transmission pipelines project.

    The study will assess potential project sites, optimal plant capacity, technical and commercial parameters and the viability of associated water transmission infrastructure.

    According to a source, the study’s consultant has not yet been appointed.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16700218/main.jpg
    Mark Dowdall
  • June deadline for Riyadh section of Saudi Landbridge

    6 May 2026

     

    Saudi Arabia Railways (SAR) has set a 2 June bid submission deadline for a design-and-build contract to construct the Riyadh Rail Link, a new railway line running north to south across Riyadh.

    The tender was issued on 29 January. The previous bid submission deadline was 29 April.

    The scope of work includes constructing a 35-kilometre-long double-track railway line connecting SAR’s North-South railway to the Eastern railway network.

    The contract also covers the procurement, construction and installation of associated infrastructure such as viaducts, civil works, utility installations, signalling systems and other related works.

    The project is expected to form a key component of the Saudi Landbridge railway.

    In January, SAR said it would deliver the Saudi Landbridge project through a “new mechanism” by 2034, after failing to reach an agreement with a Chinese consortium to construct it, as MEED reported.

    In an interview with local media, SAR CEO Bashar Bin Khalid Al-Malik said the consortium failed to meet local content requirements and that the project would now be delivered in several phases under a different procurement model.

    The project has been under negotiation between Saudi Arabia and China-backed investors keen to develop it through a public-private partnership.

    Al-Malik said that the project cost is about SR100bn ($26.6bn).

    It comprises more than 1,500km of new track. The core component is a 900km new railway between Riyadh and Jeddah, which will provide direct freight access to the capital from King Abdullah Port on the Red Sea.

    Other key sections include upgrading the existing Riyadh-Dammam line, a bypass around the capital called the Riyadh Link, and a link between King Abdullah Port and Yanbu.

    The Saudi Landbridge is one of the kingdom’s most anticipated project programmes. Plans to develop it were first announced in 2004, but put on hold in 2010 before being revived a year later. Key stumbling blocks were rights-of-way issues, route alignment and its high cost.

    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16698846/main.jpg
    Yasir Iqbal
  • Bid deadline extended for Kuwait oil pipeline

    6 May 2026

    State-owned upstream operator Kuwait Oil Company (KOC) has extended the bid deadline for a project to develop a crude oil pipeline in the country.

    The invitation to bid was originally tendered in October last year, with a bid deadline of 18 January 2026.

    Since then, the deadline has been extended several times, and the latest announced bid deadline is 31 May 2026.

    The new pipeline will have a diameter of 20 inches and will carry the crude oil blend known as Ratawi-Burgen.

    The project scope will involve replacing a 30-kilometre section of the pipeline known as CR-058.

    The pipeline originates from the Wafra field and feeds crude oil into the larger 36-inch CR-088 crude oil pipeline.

    The pipelines on this network have had documented corrosion issues in the past, which were linked to slow flow rates within the pipelines.

    The Wafra field is located in the Partitioned Zone between Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

    Both countries equally share the natural resources contained in this region.

    Kuwait is currently pushing to increase its oil production capacity.

    In 2024, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation’s chief executive, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Sabah, reiterated that his company plans to increase Kuwait’s oil production capacity to 4 million barrels a day (b/d) by 2035.                             

    In September last year, Kuwaiti Oil Minister Tareq Al‑Roumi announced that the country’s oil production capacity had reached 3.2 million b/d, its highest level in more than 10 years.

    Kuwait had a similar capacity in the late 2000s, peaking at a recorded 3.3 million b/d in 2010.

    Since the US and Israel’s attack on Iran on 28 February, Kuwait’s oil and gas sector has been rocked by the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which all of the country’s crude is normally exported.

    Kuwait recorded zero crude oil exports in April for the first time since the end of the Gulf War in 1991, according to shipping monitor TankerTrackers.com.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16691664/main5905.jpg
    Wil Crisp
  • Libya still silent on budget for state oil firms

    6 May 2026

     

    Libya’s state-owned National Oil Corporation (NOC) has yet to provide its subsidiaries with details of how much funding they will receive under the country’s new budget, according to industry sources.

    The failure to quickly communicate information about how the budget will be distributed has disappointed some industry stakeholders.

    One source said: “NOC’s failure to tell its subsidiaries how much money is going to be available to them to spend on projects means that significant uncertainty remains about which projects will progress and when.”

    Libya’s rival legislative bodies approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than 13 years earlier this year.

    The Central Bank of Libya confirmed on 11 April that both chambers had endorsed the budget, saying that it was a key step towards restoring financial stability after prolonged division.

    The budget is valued at LD190bn ($29.95bn), and LD12bn ($1.9bn) has been allocated to NOC.

    An additional LD40bn ($6.3bn) has been allocated for “development projects”.

    Libya has said a joint committee has been formed to help prioritise development projects, which have been listed in the budget.

    The budget was announced at a time when Libya’s oil and gas sector could be positioned to generate windfall revenues as prices remain high due to fallout from the US and Israel’s war with Iran.

    One industry source said: “I understand that there might be processes to go through and important decisions that need to be made, but it is also important that NOC acts quickly in order to get projects moving.”

    Over the past decade, the country has had two rival governments; the last time the country operated under a single national budget was in 2013.

    The country’s two legislatures are the eastern-based House of Representatives and the Tripoli-based High Council of State.

    As a result of the US and Israel’s war with Israel, there has been significant disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports around 20% of the world’s oil and gas exports.

    Libya is well-positioned to capitalise on this situation, as energy-importing nations seek reliable oil and gas supplies.

    The North African country is located near Europe, with several large oil and gas export ports and a pipeline that transports gas to Italy.

    Libya has the largest oil reserves in Africa, but has struggled to implement projects to develop them over recent years due to political infighting and security problems.

    READ THE MAY 2026 MEED BUSINESS REVIEW – click here to view PDF

    Global energy sector forced to recalibrate; Conflict hits debt issuance and listings activity; UAE’s non-oil sector faces unclear recovery period amid disruption.

    Distributed to senior decision-makers in the region and around the world, the May 2026 edition of MEED Business Review includes:
    To see previous issues of MEED Business Review, please click here
    https://image.digitalinsightresearch.in/uploads/NewsArticle/16691662/main.png
    Wil Crisp