China’s fintech giant Ant Financial has launched on Thursday a blockchain platform, named OpenChain, to enable developers, and small and micro enterprises to deploy blockchain applications with higher efficiency and lower costs, according to a company’s press release.
OpenChain provides small firms with dozens of readily available modules to create digital products for multi-party collaborations, including in areas such as supply chain finance, product provenance, digital invoices, and charitable donations, said Ant Financial.
The move comes as Ant Financial is focusing on developing its offering of technology services. By 2023, technology services are expected to make up to 65% of Ant Financial’s revenues, compared to just 37% in 2017, according to confidential company projections viewed by Reuters.
Previously, Ant Financial launched a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) version of OceanBase, a distributed database that has served as a key computing infrastructure for Alipay. The tool provides a flexible and cost-effective option to small-and-medium enterprise customers and developers, enabling them to access all of OceanBase’s computing capabilities, said Ant Financial.
This article is part of KrASIA’s “China Brief” section, where KrASIA’s reporters will provide quick daily updates about the tech ecosystem in China.