Freight Tech Startup Forto Raises $240 Million in Softbank-led Round
Forto has raised $240 million from investors led by Softbank (9984.T), the freight technology startup said on Monday, and will invest in expanding its platform for organizing trade shipments between China and Europe.The five-year-old Berlin firm offers a single platform for managing the journey of a shipping container from origin to destination - a task long handled with pen, paper and post-it notes, said Forto CEO and co-founder Michael Wax.“A shipment from Shanghai to a warehouse in Berlin should not be more difficult than a payment via Paypal or Stripe today…
Sri Lanka’s Dockyard Says Only Talks no Shipyards
Colombo Dockyard Ltd. (CDL) said it was in the preliminary stage of talks with Croatian shipbuilders on possible collaboration but says there is no joint venture plan for a yard in Hambantota. It said in a statement to the Colombo Stock Exchange that the idea of possible collaboration in shipbuilding between Croatia and Sri Lanka was mooted by the Sri Lanka mission in Vienna. Last Thursday, minister for enterprise development and investment promotion, Sarath Amunugama, said there had been talks between Sri Lanka and Croatia on setting up ship-building facilities in Hambantota and talks have started with Colombo Dockyard. His remarks were made at the opening of a supply chain hub for the supermarket chain Marks & Spencer at Global Park in Seeduwa.