Standard Chartered (StanChart), a global banking company headquartered in the United Kingdom, has developed a blockchain-technology based trade funding platform in collaboration with Chinese supply chain finance technology vendor Linklogis.
The platform, branded Olea, would attempt to fulfill the requirements of institutional investors “searching possibilities in an unconventional asset class with companies needing supply chain finance,” as per an August 30 article in The Korea Herald.
The platform’s joint project will be based in Singapore, with Amelia Ng from StanChart’s SC Ventures serving as CEO. Linklogis’ vice chairman and chief risk officer, Letitiat Chau, will function as deputy CEO.Last year, StanChart became Linklogis’ initial worldwide bank investor, a year after the two companies inked a letter of intent to collaboratively research and build supply chain financing solutions.
The bank has already collaborated with Chinese technology giants such as Alipay owner Ant Group, whose Antchain-based world trade platform Trusple is utilized by StanChart, Citi, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, and several more.
Olea is said to be helping StanChart improve its reputation in international digital trade finance, and the decision to build a blockchain framework is part of the bank’s continuing involvement with the technology. Other international banks that have used blockchain for trade financing include HSBC, BNP Paribas, and Citi, whose unified platform went live in Singapore in the second quarter last year.
StanChart had already worked with several of these same institutions on utilizing blockchain for trade funding via the eTrade Connect blockchain trade funding network, which was launched in Hong Kong three years back. In the same year, we.trade, a digital trade finance platform founded by HSBC, Rabobank, Santander, Société Générale, UniCredit, Deutsche Bank, and others, completed its initial live operations on the Hyperledger Fabric-powered IBM blockchain.
