Hong Kong, Shanghai sign to MoU to strengthen cooperation in digitized cargo trade and finance

Hong Kong has signed a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai, aiming to deepen the collaboration in areas of digitized cargo trade and finance. 

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Shanghai Data Bureau and the National Technology Innovation Center for Blockchain will jointly conduct research on digital technology and its applications, and promote the innovative application of the technology in areas such as cargo trade and finance, according to an HKMA statement on Monday.

The parties will work together to examine the use of digital technology to develop a “cross-border platform,” through which cross-border financial cooperation and the use of electronic bills of lading will be explored under Project Ensemble, while the facilitation of trade finance through cargo and trade data will be studied via connection with the Commercial Data Interchange and Cargo^x, it said. 

The collaboration leverages the unique advantages of Hong Kong as a “super connector” and “super value-adder”, with its connections to both the mainland and the world, to support Shanghai's integration with the international data ecosystem through Hong Kong, the HKMA said.