Speaking to CoinDesk, the HKMA explained that: “The Trade Finance Platform is a blockchain project initiated by 7 banks in Hong Kong. The project has been facilitated by the HKMA and is targeted for launch by September 2018“.The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is set to release a live blockchain-based financial trading platform in September.
As reported by the Financial Times on 16th July, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s blockchain network includes 21 banks, counting HSBC and Standard Chartered.
The project was unveiled in 2017 when the media pointed out that several financial institutions have passed a test for launching their own “trade finance platform“, including HKMA, Bank of China, Bank of East Asia, Hang Seng Bank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank. The project targets to raise standards of data transparency.
“The aims of the platform are to reduce frauds related to trade finance and double financing, and therefore lead to increased credit availability and lowered financing costs in the long run. This may in turn help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to trade financing,” the HKMA claimed.
Surprisingly, more and more companies are interested in participating in this project, according to HKMA’s interview. The platform is supposed to be live in September 2018. Even if this will happen sooner or later, HKMA’s blockchain will be among the most promising platforms ever launched by a government institution.
Note that this isn’t the first project of its kind, as recently a set of European banks announced the launch of their blockchain-based project called We.Trade, developed in collaboration with the tech giant IBM.
Furthermore, Hong Kong’s currency board and de facto central bank is collaborating with its counterpart based in Singapore to create a blockchain trade finance platform aimed to improve the system of cross-border transactions.