(Yicai Global) July 22 -- Five Chinese equity markets, including those in Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang province, Jiangsu province, and Shenzhen, have been allowed to kick off blockchain pilots.

The China Securities Regulatory Commission gave the permission to the five regional markets, which should advance the use of the decentralized ledger, the Beijing Local Financial Supervision and Administration said in a statement on its website yesterday.

The related Chinese sector's first official blockchain project was launched as early as in November 2017 by the Beijing Equity Trading Center, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and other regional equity markets as they sought to build a system for reliable information sharing.

The Beijing Equity Trading Center, which is currently working with central securities depository China Securities Depository and Clearing to integrate equity markets' back ends, has served more than 1,000 local unlisted joint-stock companies as of June 30, with a total more than CNY21.1 billion (USD2.9 billion) worth of assets under its custody.

Editor: Emmi Laine