iWave Advanced Research Inc. (iWAR) has launched its global trading exchange platform — Global Trade (GTx) — to ease access and enable trade in international financial markets by offshore investors and traders.
A subsidiary of Filipino-Japanese venture iWave Inc., iWar is FAB's first financial technology (fintech) registrant after AFAB opened its doors this year to fintech companies using blockchain distributed ledgers or other emerging digital technologies.
GTx Co-Founder and iWave President and CEO Ramon Garcia Jr. led the ceremonial bell ringing following his introduction of the GTx. “We are looking for leaders who want to partner with us on a global basis…If you believe in what we believe, we will open up our system to you so that we can build the best system in the world,” said Garcia.
Authority of the FAB (AFAB) Chairman Pablo Gancayco said the launch of GTx is just the start of grander things to come for the freeport.
“Today we not only welcome a new enterprise in a breakthrough industry, but more importantly we celebrate your participation in attaining our grand vision. Today is just a taste of grander things to come. We are energized by your presence and fortified by your choice of becoming a part of the FAB,” said Gancayco.
Meanwhile, Congressman Jose Enrique Garcia III of the 2nd district of Bataan said the GTx will further enable the AFAB and Bataan to bring in more projects, activities, and investments in order to catapult the province and the Philippines to the next level and thereby achieve the province’s vision of having the highest human development index in the country.
The Congressman also discussed how the FAB now becomes a strong player in the international market through the amendments brought by Republic Act 11453 or An Act Further Strengthening the Powers and Functions of AFAB that he authored in 2019.
Through the amendments, registration and operation of activities like that of and related to the GTx becomes possible in the FAB allowing it to keep up with the global trends. Other than this, those who will locate in the FAB may operate in any of the Freeport’s expansion areas within Bataan having access to its one-stop shop that further enhances the ease of doing business within the Freeport. Said act also allows granting of investor’s visa to those who have made and maintain a minimum investment of $75,000 in the FAB.
The GTx addresses the pain points currently faced by clients and issuers in traditional capital markets by easing access to fast and safe multinational capital and financial transactions through digital probity tools and blockchain technologies.
“This arrangement, empowering of the AFAB, as mandated by our amendatory charter RA 11453, already sets us apart from the other economic zones and investment promotion agencies (IPAs),” explained Administrator Emmanuel Pineda.
Relatedly, Bataan Governor Albert Garcia explained how infrastructure, modern access to finance and having intelligent and visionary people make a city, town, or province prosperous. Governor Garcia commended the AFAB mentioning Chairman Gancayco and Administrator Pineda for developing the IRR that will clear the way for investments and will enable investors to do business with ease. Likewise, the Governor thanked and commended the founders of iWave and GTx.
“What you are doing now will give FAB much needed access, projects…attract more investments, create jobs, and give a higher quality of life for our people,” Governor Garcia remarked.
In his closing, Administrator Pineda discussed how the FAB is able to manage to pose positive foreign direct investment inflows in the first quarter of the year despite the challenges brought by the pandemic.
“This was made possible by the hard work of our people and the trust of our business partners who recognize that in the FAB it is business-as-usual and opportunities abound despite the uncertainties that confront us all,” Pineda explained.
Further, the Administrator said that the GTx platform launch, a product of all the collective policy work, strategic planning, and capability building efforts by the AFAB, the provincial government of Bataan, and iWave Advanced Research Inc., is what the industries need at this time of the pandemic, referring to its timing as really perfect.
“We are one in our mission to leverage emergent technologies and adapt new ways of working to protect the interest and promote the prosperity of our zone customers and stakeholders,” said Pineda.