China’s continued expansion in CBDC , Metaverse & Malaysian Bank partnership.
China continues to invest in the future of blockchain by not only continuing to another public phase of CBDC usage, it is now investing significant amounts of money into future projects such as metaverse buildouts and allowing their banks to build huge applications for the country itself. They see a big opportunity to get ahead of the rest of the world especially within the financial markets making them more relevant on a global scale.
The city of Ningbo, in China’s Northeast Zhejiang Province, has announced that all 125 of its metro stations now accept digital yuan payment – as the Chinese central bank digital currency (CBDC) continues its adoption drive. Ningbo has some 9.5 million residents and a busy industrial sector. It is home to the only free trade zone in Zhejiang Province, as well as a deregulated hi-tech zone and one of China’s only wholly foreign-owned industrial parks. It is also a major naval base and houses most of the Chinese navy’s East China Sea fleet.
As such, its public transport network is particularly busy and comprises five metro lines, with a further three currently in construction. Per an official release from the operator, Ningbo Rail Transit, residents wishing to pay with the token will need to do so via the subway system’s dedicated app. In the app’s interface, they will be prompted to link e-CNY wallets from one of the six biggest banks currently participating in the digital yuan pilot, namely: the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the Agricultural Bank of China, the Bank of China, the China Construction Bank, the Bank of Communications, and the Postal Savings Bank.
Doing so will allow residents to scan QR codes on their mobile phones at ticket barriers – which will automatically take the relevant fee from their wallets. The metro operator stressed that the payment option was being rolled out as an initial “pilot” – but appears keen to push commuters to pay with the digital yuan. As part of an introductory offer, commuters paying with the digital yuan have been told that a certain number of commuters – chosen at random – will be charged just “one penny” (fractions of USD 1) to ride the metro until September 4.
The rail operator did not indicate if it would eventually allow commuters to pay their metro fees directly from their digital yuan wallets. Nor did it indicate that any options would be provided for non-smartphone users who are making use of so-called “hard wallets,” offline e-CNY smart cards that use NFC technology. But the firm stated that it would “continue to update” its digital CNY “payment channels in the future.” The move means that nine city subway systems throughout China’s fast-expanding digital yuan pilot zone now allow commuters to pay using the CBDC.
The Beijing municipal government on Tuesday announced a two-year (2022–2024) Metaverse innovation and development plan that would require all districts to adhere to the newly released Web3 innovation plan. The development action plan refers to the Metaverse as a new generation of information technology integration and innovation that would drive the growth of the internet toward Web3. The innovation plan focuses on promoting the development of Metaverse-related industries and helping Beijing build a benchmark city for the digital economy.
The action plan demands that various districts build technological infrastructure at a city level and promote its use in various fields, including education and tourism. The development program would see the Integration of technical means such as 3D visualization and GIS (Geographic Information System) to build a visual urban space digital platform and appropriately advance the layout of digital native intelligent infrastructure. A Google Translate transcript of the official document read: “Promote digital education scenarios, support in-depth cooperation between Metaverse-related technology companies and educational institutions, expand intelligent and interactive online education models, and develop industry-wide digital teaching platforms."
The Metaverse development action plan has also instructed districts and municipalities to offer financial and human resource support to build a virtual reality. The Beijing municipal government also demanded tracking nonfungible token (NFT) technology trends and exploring regulatory sandbox programs to support innovation. While China is known for its anti-crypto stance, the government has shown interest in the Metaverse concept since early 2021. Before Beijing, Shanghai also included the Metaverse in the five-year development plan. However, the government’s interest in nascent tech hasn’t resulted in any favorable regulations for tech companies exploring the same idea.
In July, Tencent had to shut down one of the two NFT platforms owing to declining sales aided by the regressive monetary policies of the Chinese government. Similarly, Alibaba had to hide all mentions of its NFT marketplace just hours after its launch. Over the past couple of months, two major cities in China have announced multi-year action plans with the Metaverse and NFTs in focus. The rising interest of the Chinese government towards leading Web3 technologies could lead to wider adoption in the country, quite similar to its central bank digital currency (CBDC), which is used by millions in the pilot phase itself.
Malaysia’s largest independent investment bank Kenanga announced today that it is partnering with China’s technology powerhouse, Ant Group, to launch a wealth generation and management “SuperApp.” The “SuperApp” will feature a suite of financial solutions, such as stock trading, digital investment management, foreign currency exchange and crypto trading, according to a release published on Wednesday. “Having spent the year conceptualising and designing the SuperApp, we are thrilled to partner with Ant Group, a globally recognised and experienced infrastructure and platform provider, to develop this platform and bring it to life,” said Datuk Chay Wai Leong, group managing director at Kenanga, in the release.
Ant Group is the technology firm behind the development of Alipay, which is now China’s largest digital payment platforms. The investment bank will leverage Ant Group’s mobile development platform, mPaaS, for the app, according to the release. “With almost 50 years of retail experience serving over half a million customers, we believe the Kenanga Wealth SuperApp will leapfrog our growth to the next level,” Datuk Chay said. The investment bank, founded in 1973, started its digital journey five years ago, per the release. It also recently partnered with Tokyo-based e-commerce company Rakuten to launch Rakuten Trade, a fast-growing stock trading app. Kenanga also launched a robo-advisor that has amassed over $55 million in assets under management in six months, per the release.
