KUALA LUMPUR (May 29): MyEG Services Bhd is expected to launch its cross-border trade facilitation services — known as Ztrade — through its blockchain platform Zetrix in the third quarter of this year.

"We are confident to be able to roll out [this Ztrade] within the third quarter of this year. In order to do that, it is a serious undertaking. As you have seen before, the international supernode is a key part in terms of data transmission, so we completed [international supernode] two weeks ago,” according to Zetrix adviser Datuk Fadzli Shah after MyEG’s media engagement session on Monday (May 29).

“Currently, we are integrating with customs on both sides [Malaysia and China],” added Fadzli, who is also MX Global chief executive officer.

This follows the agreement of the e-government service provider with China Customs’ wholly owned agency East Logistic-Link Co Ltd in late March, to jointly provide a full suite of cross-border trade facilitation services that include certificates of origin on the Zetrix blockchain platform.

The scope of the agreement covers international exports going into China, and MyEG will, via Zetrix, provide the digital service to connect to China's blockchain platform.

Other certificates relevant to cross-border trade like food safety, quarantine, and bill of lading could also be issued on the chain, which in turn increase the efficiency of tariff computation and customs clearance, especially for trade within the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

According to MyEG's latest annual report, the company has effectively expanded its presence in China since last year after its subsidiary Zetrix was named the first international supernode of China's Xinghuo Blockchain Infrastructure and Facility network by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).

The CAICT is a scientific research institute under China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

MyEG’s net profit for the financial year ended Dec 31, 2022 (FY2022) grew 26.17% to RM398.7 million from RM316 million a year earlier, driven by a one-off recognition of fair value gain in investment as a result of the listing of its investment in Agmo Holdings as well as an increase in revenue from existing concession and commercial services.

However, full-year revenue decreased 10.1% to RM651.18 million from RM724.41 million on lower demand for the quarantine services.

At the time of writing, MyEG’s share price was half a sen or 0.64% lower at 77.5 sen, giving it a market value of RM5.8 billion.