In this series of Director Interviews, we have asked our directors to answer a few questions so you can get to know them a little better. In the first edition of this series, we speak with Mr Lin Hui, FCI's Regional Director for North-East Asia.

What got you started in the industry?

I started in this industry back in the early 1990s, almost 30 years ago. I must have been one of the first few people in China to be exposed to Factoring. It was the Bank of Communications that gave me this opportunity. I was just a young staff working in the international business department of the Bank of Communications Shanghai Branch in the areas of export trade services. One day I was called out of the blue to attend a lecture on international Factoring, presented by the then Secretary General of the FCI, JK, visiting our head office. What impressed me was his firm and precise figure and the disruptive vision he firmly put forward: Factoring would replace letters of credit as the standard vehicle for international trade payment and settlement. This notion is engraved in my mind to this day.

Over the past 30 years, I have experienced the industry's journey in China from scratch to world number one. But we are still far from the goal of becoming a standard vehicle for international trade payment and settlement. In my view, the businesses of today are more and more involved in global supply chains. They are increasingly looking for partners who can work together as an international network rather than in their silos. For the industry, including every bank and factor in the world, to move to the next level, it must move away from a unilateral financing-led mindset towards a holistic payment and settlement network advocated and led by FCI.

Where do you see the subsequent positive market gain or change?

Open Account has become the standard method of payment for both domestic and international trade. As a result, the focus of global banking trade services is shifting from documentary business to Open Account trade services. This is the following positive change that I see. It will further drive the following developments.

1, An inter-bank Open Account trade services network will be established, and the two-factor model will become a standardised inter-bank application.

2, The organisational structure, functions and processes of bank trade services will be reorganised. Trade services will return to the core business of commercial banks.

3, Factoring will thus be transformed from a niche market to a mass market and become a standardised means of b2b payment for the global supply chains.

One of the major problems is that there are too many so-called "factoring products", " solutions", or "innovative platforms" with various labels in the market. Not to mention the businesses, even the banks, are confused. I have looked at the different models that have emerged over the last decade, and none of them have gone beyond the basic FCI two-factor structure. Therefore, a more straightforward path for the industry would be to go back to the basic FCI structure and promote the digital integration of trade.

Do you feel enough is being done to get youth involved in this industry?

This generation of young people has grown up with the Internet. They are more interested in e-commerce, venture capital, mobile payments and fintech than traditional commercial credit and trade finance. Trade finance businesses such as letters of credit, on the other hand, have been shrinking over the past two decades, and there is no incentive to take in enough new blood. This has created a discontinuity and disconnect. Over the past decade or so, there have also been a number of fintech companies, receivables financing or supply chain finance platforms created by young people around the world. Still, these people lack the background and a fundamental understanding of the industry. As a result, they are vulnerable to going radical and falling into various crises or even scandals, Greensill being a typical example.

We need to absorb and nurture the younger generation under the age of 35, let them dip into the industry's fundamentals and take more responsibility for its development. But, at the same time, the industry needs young people to accelerate its digital application and transformation.

What keeps you motivated?

What motivates me to move forward is, first and foremost, the belief that we need to develop Factoring as a standardised tool for global supply chain companies in the area of payments. I think we have a group of people committed to this belief and have been spreading the concept and methodology around the world for decades. And it is this group of people who have taught me by example and inspired me to go forward despite the odds.

What is your favourite movie?

Apollo 13. Although I saw it more than twenty years ago, the film left a lasting impression on me. It portrays to people that in the face of a crisis, it is necessary to work together as a team and to mobilise the potential of everyone. At the same time, we can appreciate that whether failure is an option or not is only a temporary question. The point is that fear and division are never options for human beings. The challenges facing the world today are enormous, and Apollo 13 can teach us something.

We want to thank Lin for letting us get to know him a little more and look forward to finding out more about our other directors in the coming weeks, so stay tuned!