Commodities Night: Crossing Borders - Your Goods and Your Money
When you trade across borders, two things cross that border. Your goods, and your money.
SystemEarth and WorldFirst invite you to Commodities Night, an invite-only evening of food, drinks and open conversation on the rooftop at Barouv, opened by a short panel so there is something concrete to talk about.
📅 Date and time
Thursday 1 October 2026
6:00pm to 10:00pm (SGT)
📍 Venue
Barouv Rooftop Bar
Level 4, The Scarlet Hotel, 33 Erskine Road, Singapore 069333
Dress Code: Business Casual
Background
You buy from suppliers overseas and sell into other markets. Two things can go wrong, and they usually go wrong together.
Your goods get stopped at the border because a rule changed and your paperwork does not prove where the product came from. Or your money leaks value on the way, through poor exchange rates, slow transfers and cash sitting idle in the wrong country.
The problem
Most businesses treat these as separate issues. Compliance is one department's headache. Currency and cash is another's. Nobody adds up the total cost.
But it is the same trade. When a shipment is held, your money is held too. It is stuck, in the wrong currency, earning nothing, while you still owe your supplier.
What the evening is for
SystemEarth makes sure your goods can cross the border. They check your suppliers and your paperwork against the new rules automatically, before it becomes a problem. Rules such as the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and ISSB-aligned disclosure now taking hold in Singapore and across Asia.
WorldFirst makes sure your money crosses well. Competitive exchange rates, same-day and next-working-day transfers, and funds held in the currencies you actually trade in.
One keeps the goods moving. The other keeps the money working. Together, that is your trade covered end to end.
For a supplier selling globally, market access now rests on two things: sustainability performance and financial operations.
Programme
6:00pm: Arrival, food and drinks
7:00pm: Welcome from WorldFirst and SystemEarth
7:30pm: Panel discussion
8:00pm: Open conversations and networking
9:00pm: Closing Till late
Panel : Fireside Chat
Why sustainability pays: the commercial case for agri-commodity companies
Shawn Shen, Country Manager, WorldFirst Singapore
James Chang, Chief Executive Officer, SystemEarth
Takeaways:
What a global buyer now asks of its suppliers, and what happens to a shipment when the answer is not there
How your sustainability data changes the financing, credit and payment terms on offer
Where money quietly leaks out of a cross-border order, and what to do about each leak
Practical first steps for a company growing globally without a large compliance or finance team
Three people who have each sat on a different side of the same trade: the buyer setting the requirement, the company proving it, and the bank account carrying the money.
What type of session is this?
This is an invite-only evening over food and drinks. It is a networking evening, with a short panel to allow participants to have something concrete to talk about. The rest of the night is open conversation among peers.
Topics covered on the panel include:
How buyers and regulators are changing what suppliers must prove
How sustainability data affects financing, credit and other options
Cross-border payment options for companies
Practical first steps companies without large sustainability teams and looking to grow globally
The emphasis is on peer exchange, learning from one another, and relevant introductions
What makes this event unique?
Most sustainability events talk about compliance. This one connects sustainability to cross-border market access and capital. Market access, in practice, means two things working together: the evidence buyers and regulators now require, and the financial operations to fund the order and collect on it across borders. In the session, we hope to move the conversation from regulatory obligation to commercial upside — market access, buyer retention, and the financing terms available to companies that can evidence their sustainability performance. A short panel of leaders from different industries will share what they have actually done, what it cost them, and what it unlocked.
The format is deliberately small and senior, so the value is more in who you meet than in what is presented.
Who will I meet there?
The session will convene 30-40 leaders from across supply chain, finance and sustainability, including:
Exporters and trading companies serving global buyers
Sustainability, procurement and supply chain leads
Cross-border and trade finance practitioners
A small number of global buyers and brand representatives setting supplier requirements
Where is the event, and how do I get there?
The session will be held at Barouv Rooftop Bar, on Level 4 of The Scarlet Hotel - booked exclusively for the evening. Set atop a preserved pre-war shophouse just off Ann Siang Hill in Chinatown, Barouv pairs a sheltered indoor pavilion with an open garden terrace overlooking the CBD.
Food and drinks will be provided.
The venue is a short walk from Maxwell, Telok Ayer and Chinatown MRT stations, with limited on-site parking. Dress is smart casual. Access details and directions will be shared with confirmed guests ahead of the event.
About Your Hosts
WorldFirst, a brand of Ant International, supports Singapore's SMEs in simplifying key financial operations, including international payments, collections, currency conversions, and treasury management, all in a one-stop account.
SystemEarth enables every company to be a sustainability and compliance leader with AI agents and satellite intelligence. They work with buyers and suppliers across the global supply chain, transforming methods of sustainability and compliance programs with software that is intuitive and impactful.