Ant Digital Technologies and Ant International joined the Hong Kong Monetary Authority's newly announced Project Ensemble Sandbox, unveiling their respective use cases and themes to focus on.
Project Ensemble, which was officially launched in March 2024, is the HKMA's new wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) project to support the development of the tokenization market in Hong Kong.
According to a press release, Ant Digital Technologies contributed to two main themes: "Green and sustainable finance" and "Trade and supply chain finance".
Ant Digital Technologies has participated in building the Tokenised Asset Platform within the Sandbox, which is a platform that offers asset tokenization services and facilitates Delivery-versus-Payment (DvP) transactions for Traditional Assets (TA) and Tokenized Deposits (TD). It supports transactions between accounts within the same bank as well as cross-bank transactions.
The use cases supported by Ant Digital technologies are：
- Green and sustainable finance
Leveraging blockchain and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies from Ant Digital Technologies, the real-time operational status of
physical assets can be recorded and securely uploaded to the blockchain. This transparency enhances asset valuation and enables
multiple stakeholders to assess value and manage risk collaboratively, which will ultimately improve financing efficiency and
accessibility.
Shenzhen-listed Longshine Technology Group, a new energy company, has digitised over 9,000 of its charging piles as Real World
Assets (RWAs) with the support of Ant Digital Technologies and Project Ensemble. Subsequently, the company has successfully
secured its first cross-border financing for RWAs in Hong Kong, propelling the rapid growth of its renewable energy business. - Trade and supply chain finance
Through Ant Digital Technologies’ tokenised asset platform and the electronic Bill of Lading (eBL), an important trade document of
title, issued over Global Shipping Business Network (GSBN), HSBC, Hang Seng Bank, and Bank of China (Hong Kong) facilitated the
use of tokenized deposits to settle the transfer of an eBL. This transaction was conducted via the Sandbox.
Ant International is focusing on the “Liquidity Management” theme of the HKMA's Project Ensemble, leveraging its Whale platform to participate in the Sandbox and develop an innovative use case with its partners.
The Whale platform is a next-generation treasury management solution that utilises blockchain technology, advanced encryption and artificial intelligence to improve the efficiency and transparency of fund movements.
Ant International will collaborate with partners Standard Chartered Bank (Hong Kong) Limited (Standard Chartered Hong Kong) and The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) to develop a global liquidity management solution that allows banks to connect to and exchange their tokens, by leveraging its Whale platform.
This collaboration will make way for cross-border payments to be conducted around the clock in real time.
