Ping An Group associate OneConnect recently launched a blockchain platform to facilitate trade between Shekou and Shunde’s ports in China. The project is a collaboration between OneConnect and China Merchants Port Group to maintain the competitiveness of China’s Greater Bay Area Ports by improving trade efficiency across all thirty seven ports in the region.
The initiative’s name is a rather long one: the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Port Logistics and Trade Facilitation Blockchain Platform Project. The collaboration was announced just eight months ago.
A pilot of the project was completed, where a total of 200 TEUs of real goods were imported and exported between the two Chinese ports. The blockchain platform reduced the time for logistical processes from an average of six days to just two days. Furthermore, it’s estimated that costs across the supply chain fell by 30%.
With the blockchain platform linking ports across the Greater Bay Area, trade parties in the region will efficiently share key information with custom officials through a shared blockchain network and validate trade transactions through cross-border data registered on the blockchain.
The project has four focus areas: smart ports, smart regulation, smart trade and smart finance. China Merchants Group’s port in Western Shenzhen will act as a smart port that allows data sharing through blockchain. Smart regulation is made possible through blockchain and IoT technology and enables two separate customs declaration processes to be combined into one. Smart trade processes include customs clearance and efficiency gains. And in the case of smart finance, if a bill of lading can be trusted it may attract a better rate for financing.
Meanwhile, OneConnect was recently listed on the NYSE and operates Hong Kong’s eTradeConnect. The blockchain platform focuses on trade finance and its network includes global banks such as HSBC and BNP Paribas. It has recently been involved with the successful completion of a cross-blockchain pilot transaction between Hong Kong and Mainland China carried out by Standard Chartered Bank. eTradeConnect also has a partnership with European trade finance platform we.trade and China’s central bank trade finance blockchain.
