Tencent's WeBank has agreed to work with Macao's government science and technology fund on smart city development. The partnership with the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund covers infrast
Tencent's WeBank has agreed to work with Macao's government science and technology fund on smart city development. The partnership with the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund covers infrastructure, public services, government administration, and workforce training. Both groups plan to use blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing to support what they call "futuristic urban development" in Macao while strengthening the broader Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
"We will utilize innovative technologies such as blockchain as a fulcrum to strengthen the technological innovation capabilities of the Macao SAR government, to promote the development of the smart city, and to benefit people's livelihood through science and technology," said Ma Chi Ngai, president of the FDCT Administration Committee.
On the partnership's broader impact, he said "through the strong collaboration and mutual support, we will take full advantage the Greater Bay Area's strength in technological innovation to inject new vitality into the region and develop the Macao economy."
Henry Ma, WeBank's executive vice president and chief information officer, said the two parties will explore public-private partnership models. He described the effort as "a meaningful reference for all enterprises and individuals committed to the development of the Greater Bay Area."
The first collaborative project uses WeIdentify, WeBank's blockchain platform for entity identity authentication and data exchange. WeBank will supply technical support for Macao's e-government services and work to enhance the experience for residents.
WeBank has worked on blockchain since 2015. After establishing the Financial Blockchain Shenzhen Consortium in 2016, the company has developed dozens of applications across finance, supply chains, and intellectual property management. These run on FISCO Blockchain, the open-source platform WeBank maintains. In September 2018, WeBank announced plans to build a blockchain-based business ecosystem.
One of WeBank's major blockchain applications is Weilidai, a micro-loan product with an interbank reconciliation platform built on blockchain. The system runs within WeChat, Tencent's social platform. Since the platform went live in August 2016 with three banking partners, it had processed 15 million interbank reconciliations by the end of August 2018.
WeBank signed a research collaboration agreement with Nanyang Technological University in January to open a research center focused on helping customers manage finances in real-time. NTU researchers and WeBank engineers will study how to provide personalized wealth management advice to customers during the five-year partnership. They will also examine blockchain and Internet-of-Things technology applications.
