SABB, HSBC complete Saudi Arabia’s first blockchain-based international trade transaction

The Saudi British Bank (SABB) and HSBC have for the first time used blockchain technology in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to finance international trade, a statement said.

The transaction involved the shipment of homogenized aluminium billets from Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. (Alba) to Saudi Arabia’s Altaiseer Aluminium Corporation (TALCO).  A Letter of Credit was issued by TALCO on a blockchain based platform using R3’s Corda system, the statement added.

The move puts Saudi Arabia and Bahrain at the forefront of global trade, introducing new levels of efficiency, security and transparency for corporate’s looking to access new markets.

“There’s been a lot of excitement about the commercial benefits of blockchain, so I’m proud we’re first to use it to improve how Saudi corporates trade internationally,” Majed Najm, Deputy Managing Director, Corporate and Institutional Banking, SABB, said.

A blockchain is a system in which an immutable record of transactions is maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network.