China Merchants Bank, founded in the late 1980s, is the second Chinese financial institution, after insurance behemoth Ping An to join the R3 Blockchain consortium, showing the group’s growing interest in Asia.
The bank, which claims to hold more than ¥2.6tn (roughly $390bn) in assets, has offices in both China and abroad.
In statements, Tianhong Zhou, IT general manager for China Merchants Bank, expressed his enthusiasm for the project, stating that he believes Blockchain holds “great potential” for the financial industry.
“We look forward to working together with R3 to deliver the innovation required to improve a range of financial services and processes.”
David Rutter, CEO of R3, added:
“We are delighted to establish a footprint in mainland China and welcome CMB to our rapidly growing consortium. The power of this technology lies in its potential to join institutions across borders and create an efficient and effective infrastructure that is appropriate for today’s increasingly globalised financial markets. We look forward to further growing our network in China over the coming months.”
