Asian Insurance Giant AIA Joins R3 Blockchain Consortium

AIA Group (HKG:1299), the largest independent publicly listed pan-Asian life insurance group, has become the latest institution to have joined the Blockchain Blockchain Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Blockchain comprises a digital network of blocks with a comprehensive ledger of transactions made in a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin or other altcoins.One of the signature features of blockchain is that it is maintained across more than one computer. The ledger can be public or private (permissioned.) In this sense, blockchain is immune to the manipulation of data making it not only open but verifiable. Because a blockchain is stored across a network of computers, it is very difficult to tampe Read this Term consortium led by R3. This marks another milestone in the Asian expansion plan of the group representing about fifty of the biggest banks and corporations in the world as they test how to incorporate blockchain solutions in the global financial markets.

Simeon Preston, AIA’s Group Chief Operations Officer, commented: “AIA is excited to join R3 as the first pan-Asian life insurer, as distributed ledger technology or blockchain offers significant opportunities to the life and health insurance industry. R3 provides us the possibility to understand together with other leading global organisations in financial services the potential applications of blockchain technology around the world and particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. We look forward to taking a leadership role in exploring how this technology might result in increased efficiency and improved service for our customers.”

David Rutter, CEO of R3, commented: “The addition of AIA represents another step in the diversification of our growing member network. By collaborating with a broad range of non-bank institutions in addition to our extensive banking partners we will ensure the technology being developed in our lab represents the different interests and requirements of the vast array of players in the global financial ecosystem.”

Last week Ping An Financial Services Group (SHA:601318) joined the blockchain consortium led by R3 and back in March the Japanese internet conglomerate SBI Holdings, Inc. (TYO:8473) announced that it had done the same.