Tencent backed WeBank eyes Web3 expansion in Hong Kong
WeBank chief information officer Henry Ma said the virtual bank will be “deeply involved” in developing Hong Kong’s Web3 infrastructure
Tencent Holdings-backed online lender WeBank is leveraging its new Hong Kong subsidiary to tap the city’s expanding Web3 market, according to a company executive, as the financial hub continues its pursuit to establish itself as a virtual asset hub.
WeBank Technology Services, launched this month, plans to be “deeply involved” in developing the city’s Web3 infrastructure, as it holds a “very open” attitude towards the industry, WeBank’s chief information officer Henry Ma said in an interview.
“I think Hong Kong needs a robust and regulator-friendly Web3 infrastructure,” Ma said. “I believe we are a very good fit.”
Founded by Tencent and other Chinese firms in 2014, Shenzhen-based WeBank is China’s largest online-only lender and the world’s 10th largest unicorn, valued at 235 billion yuan (US$32.4 billion) last year, according to a Hurun Research Institute report published in April.
Beyond digital banking, WeBank also operates an open-source blockchain platform named FISCO BCOS, which the company said in December has more than 500 use cases in China across industries including finance, government services and education.
While data verification remains the most substantial blockchain application for these industries on the mainland, the technology’s true potential lies in digital assets, according to Ma. Without these assets, blockchain’s current role as a “trusted enterprise database” generates limited value, he said.
“That’s why I think, with the technology we’ve accumulated over the years, Hong Kong offers us bigger opportunities,” Ma said.
China has maintained strict oversight of cryptocurrency-related activities on the mainland while attempting to promote the use of blockchain technology. Hong Kong, however, has an implicit green light from Beijing to develop its virtual asset industry.
In Hong Kong, WeBank plans to explore opportunities in areas including real-world assets, which involves the tokenisation of physical assets such as artworks to make them digitally tradeable, Ma said.
The company is also a member of the “architecture community” for the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s wholesale central bank digital currency initiative, known as Project Ensemble.
WeBank’s Hong Kong unit will be going head-to-head against Ant Digital Technologies, a subsidiary of the Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, whose Hong Kong-based blockchain venture Zan is a Web3 technology service provider. Ant Group is an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, owner of the South China Morning Post.
WeBank is also extending its digital banking infrastructure technologies to companies in Hong Kong, along with countries and regions covered by the Belt and Road Initiative, the company said. It recently partnered with Tencent-backed Fusion Bank in Hong Kong and Hong Leong Bank in Malaysia, according to an announcement last week.
WeBank’s Hong Kong operation now has about 30 employees, with plans to expand the team to more than 100 this year, Ma said.
SCMP.com
