HONG KONG - 20 Sep 2017: China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited (“CCB (Asia)”) and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the development of the first blockchain-enabled bancassurance project in Hong Kong. Built on the IBM Blockchain Platform, the solution is designed to streamline CCB (Asia)’s bancassurance process and greatly enhance customer experience and the quality of services delivered through faster transaction processing time and increased transparency.

Bancassurance is an arrangement whereby a bank and an insurance company form a distribution partnership in which the sales associates of the bank can sell the insurance company’s products to the bank's client base and through the bank’s channels. The arrangement can be hindered by delays in data transmission or incomplete information.

By working with IBM, CCB (Asia) and all parties on the blockchain now have a shared view of required policy data in real-time, reducing the need for time-consuming status checks which can delay processing time. This is accomplished through a shared, immutable ledger used for recording transactions. It helps establish accountability and transparency among network participants, enabling CCB (Asia) and its partner insurers to deliver the services more efficiently.

Mr. Guo Zhipeng, Deputy Chief Executive of CCB (Asia) said,

“As one of the most active global financial hubs, Hong Kong plays a key role in embracing fintech to drive further development of its banking and finance industries. CCB (Asia) is dedicated to offering a wide array of banking products and services to customers, and we strive to leverage new technologies to bring more products, more choices and better experience to our customers. After the successful launch of this blockchain-enabled bancassurance project, we plan to extend our experience to other insurance partners in order to optimise our overall bancassurance business.”

“Blockchain enables businesses to transact with less friction and more trust. Working with local clients and partners across the insurance industry ecosystem, IBM helps businesses digitize transactions, bring a fundamental change in time and cost,” said Mr. Francis Ngai, general manager at IBM Hong Kong. “In working with CCB (Asia) and the partner insurers, we have seen how the technology is disrupting traditional business processes. This work sets a standard for local banking and financial institutions in the future.”

The solution is now under testing with insurance providers and their clients and is expected to be available in the third quarter of this year. The IBM Blockchain Platform which underpins the project is the first enterprise-ready blockchain service based on the Linux Foundation's Hyperledger Fabric version 1.0. Hyperledger is an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies.

About China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited

China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited (“CCB (Asia)”) is the retail and commercial business platform of China Construction Bank Corporation in Hong Kong. As of August 31, 2017, CCB (Asia) has 50 branches in Hong Kong and offers a wide array of banking products and services to customers, including consumer banking services, commercial banking services, corporate banking services, private banking services and cross-border financial services, etc.