Recently, Forbes officially announced the list of the world's top 50 blockchain companies, with 5 Chinese companies involved.
Specifically, Chinese internet technology giants Ant Financial, Baidu, Tencent, Foxconn, and China Construction Bank are all on the list. "Finance No. 1 Institute" noted that except for Ant Financial and Foxconn, which are not first-time entrants, China Construction Bank, Tencent, and Baidu are all making their debut on the list. Moreover, China Construction Bank is the first Chinese banking institution to enter Forbes' global blockchain top 50 list.
Dong Ximiao, a special researcher at the National Finance and Development Laboratory, told "Finance No. 1 Institute," "China should increase research and application of blockchain technology, and consortium chains may become the main form of future blockchain applications."
China Construction Bank Makes Its Debut on the List
Already Operating 9 Blockchain Projects
Currently, blockchain technology applications have extended to multiple fields such as digital finance, the Internet of Things, smart manufacturing, supply chain management, and digital asset trading. At the same time, major countries worldwide are accelerating the layout of blockchain technology development.
"Finance No. 1 Institute" noted that the list includes giants from various industries such as financial institutions and technology companies, including BMW, General Electric, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, HSBC, Honeywell, IBM, ING Group, Amazon, Intercontinental Exchange, Nasdaq, LV, Mastercard, Google, Microsoft, Samsung, Walmart, and others.
It is understood that the list requires listed companies to have annual revenues of no less than $10 billion or a valuation of $10 billion or more.
Notably, China Construction Bank is the first Chinese banking institution to enter Forbes' global blockchain top 50 list.
According to the information released by Forbes, China Construction Bank is currently operating 9 blockchain projects, including assisting in tracking the origin of pharmaceutical products and tracking carbon credits.
Forbes believes that China Construction Bank's BCTrade has developed the furthest, connecting 60 financial institutions such as China Postal Savings Bank, Shanghai Bank, and Bank of Communications with 3,000 manufacturing and import-export companies. If an exporter is waiting for shipment confirmation but needs cash, they can share records of future accounts receivable on the blockchain and obtain a loan within minutes.
Public information shows that in October 2019, China Construction Bank officially launched the "BCTrade2.0 Blockchain Trade Finance Platform." Since its launch in April 2018, the cumulative transaction volume of this blockchain trade finance platform has exceeded 360 billion yuan, and it has successively deployed functions such as domestic letters of credit, forfaiting, international factoring, and re-factoring.
According to "Finance No. 1 Institute," reviewing China Construction Bank's 2019 interim report, it is evident that the bank places great emphasis on technology and blockchain within its fintech strategy.
It was disclosed that China Construction Bank will continue to increase investment in fintech innovation, balancing research and development, construction, and operations and maintenance. The focus will be on supporting the research and development of smart financial technology capabilities, internally building a collaborative and evolving smart financial ecosystem. The bank aims to achieve centralized control of supply chain services, forming a unified supply chain relationship view and supply chain finance business view at the group level, and advancing a new corporate model of "seamless integration of transactional and emerging businesses." The bank has launched a blockchain service platform, which currently includes 5 application scenarios, 9 major fields, and 61 applications, with initial results from the cloud ecosystem.
Dong Ximiao analyzed, "Currently, blockchain has begun to move from proof of concept to business practices, including supply chain finance, cross-border payments, asset securitization, and securities settlement."
Additionally, compared to last year's Forbes global blockchain top 50 list, internet fintech giants such as Tencent and Baidu have also made their debut on the list.
Ant Financial, Tencent, and Baidu Are Also on the List
In the 2020 Forbes global blockchain top 50, the other Chinese companies include Ant Financial, Tencent, Baidu, and Foxconn. Among them, Tencent and Baidu are making their debut on the list.
Forbes disclosed in the list that Ant Financial's Duo-Chain financial platform has facilitated $1.5 billion in quick loans, providing funding for cash-strapped supply companies such as Sichuan GuanYong Computer. Ant Financial is using its proprietary blockchain to verify accounts receivable and process payments.
According to previous public information from Ant Financial's Alipay, Ant Blockchain has already been implemented in over 40 scenarios across various fields, including public welfare, government services, and supply chain finance.
As for Tencent, it is assisting in building trade finance blockchain applications to simplify bulk metal purchases. For example, the bulk commodity e-commerce company Gangjuren is collaborating with Tencent and several small and medium-sized steel trading companies to streamline the financing process.
Another statistic is that by the end of 2019, Tencent had publicly disclosed 777 Chinese invention patent applications related to blockchain, ranking first among Chinese applicants.
Zheng Haojian, Vice President of Tencent Financial Technology, stated that Tencent Blockchain has already addressed the low-efficiency issues that were previously criticized through technological innovation.
Baidu, on the other hand, has multiple blockchain projects, one of which allows millions of Chinese users to adopt and trade cute digital pet dogs—each unique and "living" on the blockchain.
Forbes analyzed that for this year's listed companies, the benefits of blockchain are no longer merely theoretical but are reflected in tangible revenue and cost savings.
Dong Ximiao candidly told "Finance No. 1 Institute," "In the future, China should strengthen the top-level planning and institutional arrangements for blockchain technology applications, accelerate the construction of relevant standard systems for underlying platforms and business applications. On one hand, this will better enable participation in international competition, and on the other hand, it will prevent the deification and hype of blockchain."
Below is the specific list content: