We are creating some awesome events for you. Kindly bear with us.

China’s Digital Yuan Eases Construction Project Payments

It may not have been introduced to the public, but China’s digital currency is seeing benefits in different sectors of the industry, starting with construction. Three construction project payments were successfully made through China’s digital fiat currency, or the e-CNY, in the Eastern Chinese city of Suzhou. This was confirmed by the region’s local Digital Finance Department.

The digital currency is still in its pilot stage. Though it was made available during the 2022 Winter Olympics, Beijing has not yet fully implemented the use of its digital currency. As such, this marks the first time that digital yuan has been used for project payment in such fields as real estate and urban landscaping. This was confirmed by the Digital Finance Development Bureau of Suzhou High-Speed Rail New Town, one of the country’s current digital yuan pilot regions.

While the payments were not massive, it shows how powerful a digital currency is. As per the record, the total transaction reached 554,950 yuan (about $87,183). It was completed through the digital yuan wallets of the two Chinese banks in a matter of seconds.

Such conveniences have certainly caught the attention of the businesses that have used the e-CNY. As the general manager of the construction company detailed, the transfer was faster, safer and definitely more convenient.

More than 40 digital yuan pilot scenarios have been developed in Suzhou High-Speed Rail New Town. It has helped plenty of businesses in the area. The changes have been felt in a host of fields that includes:

  • Electricity bill payment
  • Subway ticket purchase
  • Hotel services
  • Canteen services

This is as reported by Zhou Xilang, the Deputy Director of the Digital Finance Development Bureau of the new town.

China’s digital yuan transactions hit nearly 87.57 billion yuan (USD 13.76 billion) at the end of 2021, as the country ramped up the research and pilot use of the central bank’s digital currency. The nation’s efforts in developing its central bank digital currency started in 2014 when it first conducted relevant studies. This was followed by the bank’s moves to engage in research and development cooperation with commercial banks and internet companies in 2017.

Digital currencies are part of the promise of digital transformation. The advantages can be truly overwhelming. First, there is speed. With a digital coin, seamless transactions would put any physical money at a serious disadvantage. Plus, there’s the minimal transaction cost as a government need not mint money.

However, a digital currency is not as easy as it sounds. Fiat electronic money such as the e-CNY need to be studied in-depth. Indeed, while the pros are many, there is a slew of cons that would need to be looked into. Chief of which is that they could be susceptible to hacking.

Cryptocurrencies differ from Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) as they’re not issued by any government. In short, crypto is not fiat money. A CBDC can certainly boost the economy. For instance, it could foster e-commerce. That should be timely with Chinese cities stepping up their online trade. The flow of goods can be hastened.

China’s digital transformation has been moving in great strides. The recently-concluded 2022 Winter Games in Beijing revealed that. Still, the Asian country has challenges to face ahead in its pursuit of Industry 4.0, one reason why it held off a planned banning of personal QR codes recently, as reported on OpenGov Asia.

PARTNER

Qlik’s vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

PARTNER

CTC Global Singapore, a premier end-to-end IT solutions provider, is a fully owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Techno-Solutions Corporation (CTC) and ITOCHU Corporation.

Since 1972, CTC has established itself as one of the country’s top IT solutions providers. With 50 years of experience, headed by an experienced management team and staffed by over 200 qualified IT professionals, we support organizations with integrated IT solutions expertise in Autonomous IT, Cyber Security, Digital Transformation, Enterprise Cloud Infrastructure, Workplace Modernization and Professional Services.

Well-known for our strengths in system integration and consultation, CTC Global proves to be the preferred IT outsourcing destination for organizations all over Singapore today.

PARTNER

Planview has one mission: to build the future of connected work. Our solutions enable organizations to connect the business from ideas to impact, empowering companies to accelerate the achievement of what matters most. Planview’s full spectrum of Portfolio Management and Work Management solutions creates an organizational focus on the strategic outcomes that matter and empowers teams to deliver their best work, no matter how they work. The comprehensive Planview platform and enterprise success model enables customers to deliver innovative, competitive products, services, and customer experiences. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, with locations around the world, Planview has more than 1,300 employees supporting 4,500 customers and 2.6 million users worldwide. For more information, visit www.planview.com.

SUPPORTING ORGANISATION

SIRIM is a premier industrial research and technology organisation in Malaysia, wholly-owned by the Minister​ of Finance Incorporated. With over forty years of experience and expertise, SIRIM is mandated as the machinery for research and technology development, and the national champion of quality. SIRIM has always played a major role in the development of the country’s private sector. By tapping into our expertise and knowledge base, we focus on developing new technologies and improvements in the manufacturing, technology and services sectors. We nurture Small Medium Enterprises (SME) growth with solutions for technology penetration and upgrading, making it an ideal technology partner for SMEs.

PARTNER

HashiCorp provides infrastructure automation software for multi-cloud environments, enabling enterprises to unlock a common cloud operating model to provision, secure, connect, and run any application on any infrastructure. HashiCorp tools allow organizations to deliver applications faster by helping enterprises transition from manual processes and ITIL practices to self-service automation and DevOps practices. 

PARTNER

IBM is a leading global hybrid cloud and AI, and business services provider. We help clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs and gain the competitive edge in their industries. Nearly 3,000 government and corporate entities in critical infrastructure areas such as financial services, telecommunications and healthcare rely on IBM’s hybrid cloud platform and Red Hat OpenShift to affect their digital transformations quickly, efficiently and securely. IBM’s breakthrough innovations in AI, quantum computing, industry-specific cloud solutions and business services deliver open and flexible options to our clients. All of this is backed by IBM’s legendary commitment to trust, transparency, responsibility, inclusivity and service.

Send this to a friend