Joint-stock lender China CITIC Bank has hailed the results of a blockchain payments platform that it first deployed in the Xiong’an New Area just over a year ago to cater to the spate of construction projects in the area.
At the start of 2020 CITIC Bank successfully launched its “Xiong’an New District Construction Funds Blockchain System Platform” (雄安新区建设资金区块链系统平台), becoming the first “on-chain” lender in the region.
CITIC uses the platform to facilitate payments made to the accounts of builders and materials suppliers for local construction projects in the Xiong’an New District, involving local government authorities, construction companies, contractors, sub-contractors and building staff.
As a recently launched urban development zone, Xiong’an New Area is a hotbed of construction projects. In 2020 the area saw the start of 147 construction projects with a total contract value of 68.3 billion yuan.
China CITIC Group says that it was the cooperative partner for projects worth around half the total contract value, and that its blockchain platform has been used to process nearly 100,000 transactions worth over 14.6 billion yuan.
“Compared to traditional payments environments, the use of the blockchain system by China CITIC Bank achieves the functions of traceability, confidentiality, transparency and controllability of funds,” said Li Jin (李津), head of the Xiong’an New Area branch of China CITIC Bank, to Securities Daily.
“It also applies the latest technology to the development of a smart city in the New Area, and achieves closer integration between technology and operations.”
