Members of the central banks of Singapore and Hong Kong have revealed that a number of banks have now joined their recently announced blockchain-based trade network. Expected to launch by early 2019, the new network will now involve participation from over 20 global banks and financial institutions, a Business Times report says. The announcement of the new members of the project was made during the Singapore Fintech Festival on Thursday. The proof-of-concept – called the Hong Kong Trade Finance Platform (HKTFP) – is a collaboration between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), aimed to digitize trade finance using distributed ledger technology (DLT). According to the officials from the two monetary authorities, the DLT pilot – which is described as a "global trade connectivity network" (GTCN) – is expected to set "new global standards" for the industry and aims to trace global trad...