China opens an industrial park in Shenzhen for digital yuan CBCC development.
China opens industrial park to develop digital yuan ecosystem It opened on October 11, according to Chinese press reports. This is the first park dedicated to Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), also known as e-CNI.
The industrial park is located in Luhu District, Shenzhen, near Hong Kong. It opens with nine residents. According to reports, the district government has announced ten “development initiatives” for the digital yuan ecosystem, which include payment solutions, smart contracts, strong wallets and the introduction of the digital yuan.
Incentives including up to three years of free rent are being offered to residents. Commercial banks can receive up to 20 million yuan ($2.7 million) to settle there, while startups are eligible for up to 50 million yuan ($6.9 million). Total government support is set at 100 million yuan ($13.7 million). Affordable loans are also being offered.
Related: Shenzhen city issues 30M free digital yuan airdrops to stimulate consumer spending
The park's first residents include Hengbao, Wuhan Tianyu Information and Lakala Pay. Hengbao and Tianyu produce payment cards. LaCalla is a payment processor and Visa partner.
The Shenzhen Digital RMB Industrial Park officially launched on Wednesday, at a press conference in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen pic.twitter.com/SehYDnhoUu
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) October 12, 2023
Zeng Zhaoxiang, vice director of Wuhan Tianyu Information, told China Daily:
“We hope to bring about a synergistic effect in the industrial chain and promote the development of the park together.”
China has taken several steps to promote the use of the experimental digital yuan. 26 cities are participating in the pilot, and CBCC has been adopted by 5.6 million merchants – a number thanks to government incentives and technological advances.
The Digital Yuan app recently added an option for tourists to add Visa and MasterCard to their wallets. However, with 261 million digital yuan wallets created as of 2022, adoption is expected to be slow.
Magazine: The real reason for China's war on crypto, 3AC judge's embarrassing mistake: Asia Express
