Key Takeaways
HKMA, Shanghai Information Bureau, and China’s Nationwide Blockchain Centre agreed to collectively develop cross-border digital cargo commerce infrastructure.
The deal connects HKMA’s present CDI knowledge community and Challenge Ensemble tokenization framework to Shanghai’s commerce hall.
HKMA’s CDI has already facilitated over 82,000 mortgage purposes value HK$66.4 billion since its October 2022 launch.
March 2 (Crypto-Information.Internet) – The Hong Kong Financial Authority (HKMA) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Shanghai Information Bureau and China’s Nationwide Expertise Innovation Centre for Blockchain. The three events agreed to construct a digital commerce finance platform for cross-border cargo knowledge.
HKMA Deputy Chief Government Howard Lee, Shanghai Information Bureau Director Dr. Shao Jun, and Nationwide Blockchain Centre Director Dong Jin signed the MOU. Particularly, it covers joint analysis on digital expertise, improvement of a cross-border platform, and exploration of digital payments of lading underneath Challenge Ensemble, in keeping with the HKMA’s official announcement.
Three-Method Settlement
Lee referred to as the settlement “an vital milestone within the collaboration on monetary innovation between Shanghai and Hong Kong” and mentioned it will strengthen digitized cargo commerce cooperation between the 2 cities.
The HKMA described Hong Kong as a “tremendous connector” bridging mainland China and worldwide markets. Commerce is the town’s second-largest trade, contributing 15% of GDP. In 2024, commerce quantity reached 3.6 instances the town’s annual GDP, in keeping with the South China Morning Submit.
HKMA Digital Commerce Finance Applications
Specifically, the MOU builds on two HKMA digital commerce finance applications already in operation.
The Industrial Information Interchange (CDI) is a consent-based data-sharing community launched in October 2022. Since then, it has facilitated greater than 82,000 mortgage purposes value HK$66.4 billion (US$9.5 billion) as of December 2025. CDI loans carry rates of interest 36 foundation factors decrease on common, throughout 26 banks and 17 knowledge suppliers, the SCMP reported.
Challenge CargoX, established in April 2025, makes use of CDI infrastructure to modernize commerce finance. Lenders can approve loans based mostly on cargo and enterprise knowledge quite than property collateral. An professional panel launched a 20-point advice report in December 2025. The primary measures are set to roll out over the subsequent three years. Howard Lee has mentioned many small companies “have by no means borrowed commerce finance as they lack property or different property for collateral.”
Tokenization and CBDC Connection
The settlement additionally references Challenge Ensemble, HKMA’s wholesale central financial institution digital forex challenge introduced in March 2024. The Ensemble Sandbox launched in August 2024 to check tokenization throughout 4 themes, together with commerce and provide chain finance.
In November 2025, HKMA launched EnsembleTX, a pilot for real-value tokenized deposit transactions. Seven banks take part, together with Normal Chartered, HSBC, and Financial institution of China (Hong Kong). Asset managers BlackRock and Franklin Templeton additionally joined. The pilot settles by Hong Kong’s Actual Time Gross Settlement system and runs by 2026, in keeping with HKMA’s EnsembleTX announcement.
As well as, the MOU’s eBL exploration underneath Challenge Ensemble would convey digital commerce paperwork into this tokenization framework. As of 2022, solely about 2.1% of payments of lading had been digital. 9 main carriers within the Digital Container Delivery Affiliation have dedicated to 100% digital issuance by 2030. Ten jurisdictions have adopted UNCITRAL’s Mannequin Legislation on Digital Transferable Data, together with the UK, Singapore, and France.
Commerce Hall and Digital Commerce Finance Outlook
The settlement comes as commerce volumes between mainland China and world markets proceed to develop. China’s ports dealt with 350 million twenty-foot equal container items in 2025. Shanghai processed 55.06 million TEUs for the total yr, making it the world’s busiest port, in keeping with the SCMP. China recorded a $1.19 trillion commerce surplus for 2025.
The MOU is the primary main cross-border implementation step underneath HKMA’s Fintech 2030 technique, introduced in November 2025. That technique organizes Hong Kong’s monetary expertise agenda round 4 pillars generally known as DART: Information, AI, Resilience, and Tokenization.
Nonetheless, earlier makes an attempt to digitize world commerce on shared platforms have confronted difficulties. TradeLens, a blockchain transport platform constructed by IBM and Maersk, had over 300 trade members and knowledge from greater than 600 ports. It shut down in November 2022 after failing to realize business viability, in keeping with Maersk’s announcement. That platform was run by a non-public firm. In distinction, HKMA’s initiative is government-led.
Reporting by Zoran Spirkovski.
