The Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Macau and Hong Kong has launched a project to apply a range of fintech solutions to the integration and coordination of the region’s numerous ports.
On 9 November the Greater Bay Area Integrated Port Project Services Platform (粤港澳大湾区组合港项目服务平台) officially launched its first “inter-urban integrated port” project, combining the operation of the ports of Shekou and Shunde.
The project involves the use of four key services plans encompassing “smart ports, smart regulation, smart trade and smart financing” to integrate the operations of the Shekou and Shunde ports.
Trial sites have already processed more than 200 standard shipping containers, while the integrated port model is expected to reduce the overall import and export logistics time from 5 – 7 days to just 2 days, increase efficiency by 60% and reduce enterprise transportation and customs costs by 30%.
The Integrated Port Project Services Platform was launched by Ping An Group’s fintech subsidiary One Connect and China Merchants Port Group, and bills itself as a “shared blockchain network for full trade procedures,” encompassing ports, customs, logistics, enterprises and financing,” while also focusing on the application of the “ABCD’s” of fintech (artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and big data).
Shenzhen mayor Chen Rugui (陈如桂) said that smart port integration is the future trend for the Greater Bay Area, which is one of the world’s largest port zones.
“A first class Bay Area needs first class ports,” said Chen, who highlighted “full use of new technologies such as AI, 5G and the blockchain; vigorously driving a port reform and innovation model of ‘one application, one inspection and one trip,’ and expediting integration of custom procedures for the ports of the Greater Bay Area.”
The Greater Bay Area is host to 37 ports of various sizes whose throughput volume is is over 70 million containers, and whose cross-border trade volume exceeds 15 trillion yuan.
