Amid growing interest in blockchain technology among the world's biggest banks, a major Chinese financial firm has inked a new partnership with startup R3CEV.

Ping An Insurance Group, with total assets in excess of $765bn, is China's first financial firm to join the group. Ping An has a number of business arms, working in the insurance, banking and personal finance sectors.

David Rutter, CEO and founder of R3, said in a statement:

Headquartered in New York, R3’s consortium of global financial institutions now includes members from Asia, Europe and North America, but the entrance of Ping An is notable given that the firm operates within China, the world’s second largest economy.

Jessica Tan, chief operating officer for Ping An Group, suggested that the Shenzhen-based company is most interested in using the technology to facilitate transfers of digital assets.

“Ping An Group has always been at the forefront of using technology and innovation in its banking, insurance, investment and internet businesses," said Tan. "We are excited about joining R3 and look forward to developing and using blockchain technology to create a more efficient way of managing financial assets digitally end-to-end.”

The addition of Ping An to the consortium's ranks comes on the heels of the formal unveiling of one of R3's flagship development projects.

In April, the startup unveiled a blockchain-inspired technology applications, called Corda, that re-imagined distributed ledgers from the ground with an eye to exchanging contracts as opposed to assets.

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