The People's Bank of China (PBoC) has officially launched the testing phase of a blockchain trade finance platform, local news outlet Shanghai Securities News reported September 4. The Shenzhen Central Sub-branch of the People's Bank of China, the central bank of the People’s Republic of China, has entered the trial phase of the so-called “Bay Area Trade Finance Blockchain Platform” earlier than scheduled. The platform is aimed at conducting trade and financing activities, such as accounts receivable and trade financing. At the same time, the platform provides a regulatory system for trade finance to enable real-time monitoring of various financial …

South Korea’s SBI Savings Bank has signed an MoU with DAYLI Intelligence, a specialist in AI and blockchain technology, to bolster its fintech business, Money Today reports September 3. DAYLI Intelligence provides blockchain solutions and AI-based tech infrastructure for financial institutions. The firm will reportedly assist SBI in implementing both blockchain and machine learning to maximize work efficiency and reduce costs across various financial products and services. DAYLI will provide SBI with solutions based on ‘LoopChain,’ the protocol that it has developed alongside blockchain startup theloop as part of the ICON ecosystem. The latter is a project that aims to …

LG CNS, a subsidiary of South Korean multinational conglomerate LG Corporation, has announced a plan to strengthen its enterprise offerings in seven key areas including blockchain, according to an official press release published August 22. LG CNS is planning to release new “strategic” brands for each of the seven platforms of newly developed technologies — blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), internet of things (IoT), smart city, smart factory, robot service, and smart energy — in order to promote the “fourth industrial revolution” with its enterprise portfolio. The released brandings, with similar designs but different names, are part of LG CNS’s aim …

A study on issues of competition in fintech, commissioned by the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON), was published July 20. It found that central bank-issued digital currencies could be a “remedy” for a lack of competition policy in the crypto sector: “The arrival of permissioned cryptocurrencies promoted by banks, even by central banks, will reshape the current competition level in the cryptocurrency market, broadening the number of competitors.” The study mentions cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) as “technological and operational paradigms that are a source of disruption for the entire sector, including monetary policy and financial stability.” …

Boeing is partnering with an artificial intelligence (AI) company to develop pilotless vehicles and other products using blockchain, it announced in a press release July 17. Texas-based SparkCognition, a company which Boeing invested in in a $32 million funding round last month, will work with the aviation giant on a platform which will track unmanned air vehicles and allocate flight corridors. As a byproduct of this development, the partnership “will also provide a standardized programming interface to support package delivery, industrial inspection and other commercial applications,” the press release explains. A buoyant SparkCognition CEO Amir Husain said the aerospace industry …

South Korea electronics giant Samsung revealed a further blockchain implementation in an official announcement June 20, using the technology in a new logistics platform. The platform, dubbed Cello 3.0, is the brainchild of Samsung’s IT subsidiary Samsung SDS, which will use artificial intelligence (AI) and its “logistics knowhow” to deliver it, a press release states. “We will provide services to global e-commerce sellers with CelloSquare 3.0, which combines cutting-edge IT with Samsung SDS global logistics operation experience,” Kim Hyung-tae, vice president of the logistics business division of Samsung SDS commented. Cello is just the latest project to surface from SDS’ …

German securities marketplace and stock exchange Deutsche Börse will be spending 270 mln euro (around $315 mln) on new tech investments including blockchain, Finextra reported yesterday, May 30. The spending plan, part of the company’s 2020 roadmap which will involve 350 job cuts, will also include big data analytics, cloud, computing, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Deutsche Börse, the ninth largest exchange in the world, notes that the plan also includes the creation of several hundred new jobs in these sectors in the future. In regards to blockchain development, Deutsche Börse is looking into how the technology can “create new lines …

A platform is combining “cutting edge” artificial intelligence (AI) with the “immutable reliability” of blockchain to create a system where retailers and manufacturers can predict whether they are overstocking or understocking products – an issue estimated to cost the industry $500 bln a year. OSA DC, which stands for Optimal Shelf Availability Decentralized, says its system allows major brands and smaller chains to track product stock, inventories and orders with “pinpoint accuracy.” Shoppers also stand to gain from the platform, as its digital assistant would provide reliable information on a product’s origin, ingredients, traceability, and price through a tamperproof ledger. …