As a key step in promoting the nation’s digital currency, Shenzhen launched China’s first digital renminbi (RMB) industrial park in Luohu District on Wednesday, with the first batch of nine financial companies ready to settle in, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.
The Shenzhen Digital RMB Industrial Park aims to fully leverage the driving and demonstrative roles of leading enterprises through government guidance and market orientation, with the goal to build a digital RMB industry cluster, support the growth of relevant companies and create a comprehensive digital RMB ecosystem.
The initial batch of companies intending to enter the park completed the signing ceremony on the same day, including Hengbao Co. Ltd., Wuhan Tianyu Information Industry Co. Ltd. and Lakala Payment.
Meanwhile, the Shenzhen branches of China’s four largest State-owned commercial banks — Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China and China Construction Bank, also released innovative scenarios for the use of digital RMB.
The industrial park is a part of Shenzhen’s efforts to build Luohu into a demonstration zone of digital RMB application.
The Luohu government has unveiled an outline with 10 initiatives to boost the development of the local digital RMB ecosystem.
According to the outline, the government will arrange a total of 100 million yuan (US$13.7 million) as special support funds over the next three years to develop the digital RMB ecosystem in Luohu, focusing on computing, algorithms and data concerning the digital economy.
The initiatives also aim to facilitate payment solutions across various industries, promote the use of smart contracts based on blockchain technologies, integrate hardware wallets with smart devices, and encourage the operation and promotion of digital RMB, among other objectives.
According to the Daily report, enterprises entering the industrial park will enjoy free rent for up to three years. They can also apply for loans with favorable interest rates and establish digital RMB experience centers.
In October 2020, Luohu issued 10 million yuan worth of digital currency in “red envelopes” to promote the application of the new form of currency, becoming the first district in China to issue digital RMB “red envelopes.”
Over the past three years, Luohu has been exploring more application scenarios for digital RMB.
This February, the digital RMB wallet card, available for convenient self-service application through machines on the streets of Luohu, was made available for Hong Kong visitors to obtain digital RMB through the popular e-pay Octopus app and make purchases in the district using the digital currency.