Hang Seng Bank has completed a pilot trade transaction for two corporate customers through eTradeConnect, a trade finance blockchain platform in Hong Kong.
Hang Seng, the Hong Kong-based bank and creator of the world renowned freefloat adjusted market capitalization weighted stock market index named after itself, has launched a blockchain powered trade processing and financing platform.
The distributed ledger technology platform, eTradeConnect, was developed by a consortium of 12 banks including Hang Seng. The new technology was facilitated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in order to facilitate settlement and financing of trades for corporate customers.
Hang Seng successfully facilitated the completion of an end-to-end blockchain transaction earlier this month. The two parties involved, Clover Group International Limited and Regina Miracle International, used the platform for the sale and purchase of apparel accessories. The eTradeConnect platform was used in the preparation and transmission of digital trade documents, auto data matching and the raising of the trade finance request.
Donald Lam, Head of Commercial Banking at Hang Seng, commented: “We are pleased to have worked with the HKMA and other banks in Hong Kong to introduce the eTradeConnect trade finance blockchain platform, which marks a new milestone in the advancement of fintech in Hong Kong. As part of our ongoing commitment to providing comprehensive and efficient services, we will continue to invest in technology to better serve the changing needs of customers in a rapidly evolving market environment.”
Officially launched in November, the pilot of the eTradeConnect platform began at the end of September 2018. Hang Seng Bank, a principal member of the HSBC Group, operates around 270 service outlets serving both personal and business customers.
HSBC, Hang Seng Bank’s parent company, has recently executed a live trade finance transaction for international food and agriculture conglomerate Cargill using R3’s Corda scalable blockchain platform.
