SY Holdings has become one of China’s most active innovators in supply-chain finance through artificial intelligence (AI). Moving from traditional factoring to a light-asset, data-driven model, the firm is now expanding beyond China, acting as a bridge for Chinese SMEs seeking growth in Southeast Asia and beyond, and taking firm strides toward its mission of 'empowering Chinese SMEs to reshape the global supply chain.' At Hong Kong FinTech Week 2025, Darrell Lua, director of international business at SY Holdings, outlined the firm’s approach and its wider implications for SME finance. He argued that lending should shift from firm-centric credit models to a “transaction-focused, entity-light” system that evaluates trade quality rather than the borrower’s balance sheet. “The goal,” Lua said, “is not just speed but understanding.” He explained how AI can combine data from orders, logistics, tax filings and payments to generate a real-time picture of business health, enabling faster and more accurate credit decisions. From static credit to real-time insight SMEs in emerging markets often struggle to secure working capital because banks have limited visibility of their operations. The World Bank reports that almost 60 per cent of SMEs in developing economies remain underfunded. SY Holdings addresses this by making data, rather than collateral, the basis of trust. Its SY Cloud platform, uses AI to process operational information continuously, matching borrowers to suitable lenders among more than 190 funding partners. Lua said the system enables “end-to-end, minute-level” assessment. When a manufacturer receives a new order, the AI engine analyses invoices, logistics records and supplier contracts before identifying a credit line. Using computer vision and natural-language processing, it verifies delivery receipts and interprets contracts automatically, enabling financing within hours instead of weeks, based on live evidence rather than static statements. This model has already supported more than 21,000 SMEs and facilitated over RMB 300 billion ($42 billion) in trade-related financing. Lua maintains that this does not replace human judgement but enhances it. “AI in finance should enable trust at scale, not replace people,” he said, reflecting broader industry efforts to blend automation with responsible oversight. Extending Chinese SME finance abroad SY Holdings’ international expansion reflects the growing ambition of Chinese firms to expand across Asia. Its regional headquarters in Singapore serves as a base for scaling its services network across Southeast Asia and the globe. Lua said that Chinese SMEs entering new markets face three common obstacles: logistics complexity, working-capital shortages and foreign exchange risk. SY Holdings addresses all three through a digital platform integrating trade services, cross-border credit and local-currency settlement. Going a step further, it even helps Chinese SMEs secure international orders and expand into global markets more efficiently. The company has embedded its technology into partner ecosystems to accelerate market entry. Collaborations with Carro, Southeast Asia’s largest online auto marketplace, and Singbada, a supply-chain platform linked to SHEIN, allow SY Holdings to provide financing directly within existing workflows. This gives SMEs access to credit where they trade, removing the friction of external loan applications and shortening funding cycles. These partnerships provide SY Holdings with immediate market reach and richer data, while giving local partners ready-made financial infrastructure. The model illustrates a broader shift in cross-border trade finance — from bank-led networks to embedded digital systems that move capital as easily as goods. Data-driven risk management Traditional lenders rely heavily on collateral and credit history, disadvantaging SMEs with thin balance sheets or informal records. SY Holdings’ transaction-based underwriting instead evaluates the health of individual trades, treating each shipment, order and payment as a data point contributing to risk assessment. By analysing both structured and unstructured data — from tax invoices to video evidence of deliveries — SY Holdings’ algorithms can verify that transactions are genuine and on track. This live-data approach allows dynamic risk pricing, reducing defaults while expanding credit access for smaller enterprises. In markets with fragmented regulation and limited public credit information, such systems could become a practical model for inclusion. AI as catalyst for global finance Lua sees the commercialisation of AI agents as the next major disruptor in supply-chain finance. He predicts that autonomous digital assistants will eventually negotiate trade terms, underwrite loans and monitor shipments — creating a financial layer that operates continuously and transparently. Beyond AI, SY Holdings is exploring the tokenisation of real-world assets, viewing these as complementary technologies for the future of trade infrastructure. If realised, this ecosystem could make working capital as fluid and borderless as global commerce. SY Holdings’ progress reflects a wider transformation in how trust and credit are built in international trade. Where banks once demanded collateral, data now performs that function. Lua’s insistence that the aim is “understanding, not just velocity” captures the shift from automation for efficiency to automation that genuinely improves decision-making. As AI reshapes the economics of lending, firms like SY Holdings show that intelligent finance can do more than move money faster — it can make capital more inclusive, responsive and fair for the world’s most dynamic businesses.
