The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which acts as the monetary and financial regulator of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, has announced its partnership with subsidiaries of Hong Kong Interbank Clearing Limited and Institute of Digital Currency of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). 

Under the agreement, the parties will conduct a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) trial expected to begin in Q1 2020 to connect their respective blockchain platforms, aimed at providing more convenient trade finance services and helping Hong Kong banks quickly expand their trade finance business.

Leveraging Blockchain to Improve Trade Efficiency

In October 2018, eTradeConnect was officially launched by the HKMA, with the goals of achieving more efficient trade, better trust among traders, reduced risks, and facilitation for trade counterparties. The platform digitizes trade documents and automates trade finance processes using blockchain technology.

The HKMA’s commercialization of the eTradeConnect trade finance project was announced in October 2017, after its PoC trial was completed. Initially, seven banks led the project and were later joined by five additional institutions, creating a 12-member consortium of banks.  

Which Banks Are in the Consortium?

The seven major banks are Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, The Bank of East Asia Limited, DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Hang Seng Bank Limited, The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, and Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited.

Agricultural Bank of China Limited, Bank of Communications Co Ltd, BNP Paribas, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Asia) Ltd, and Shanghai Commercial Bank Ltd are the five additional banks that later joined the consortium.

Source: financefeeds.com

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