Ping An to power Hong Kong’s e-ID system in major win

China’s top insurance company, Ping An, has nabbed a coveted Hong Kong government project to develop the city’s electronic personal identity system, or e-ID, for local residents.

When ready, e-ID will enable Hong Kongers to conduct online transactions via their electronic identification, paving the way for the city’s government to provide services directly to residents.

Ericson Chan, CEO of Ping An Technology, the technology arm of Ping An, said the company’s strengths in cloud computing and facial recognition were key reasons for winning the contract.

“The e-ID project is the framework for building a smart city in Hong Kong. Participation in the project is conducive to helping Ping An Technology further develop the overseas practice of smart city,” Chan added.

Ping An claims that its cloud service offers the highest level of security in China’s financial sector, having achieved 12 authoritative security certifications both at home and abroad.

It has also developed full-stack service capabilities – from datacentre infrastructure to cloud-based applications – delivered to customers across industries and sites, along with facial recognition knowhow that has been applied in airport security and other fields with an accuracy rate of 99.8%.

That Ping An has won a major government contract is an affirmation of its technical maturity and ambition in becoming a major technology supplier, not only in China but globally.

It has previously said that it wants to eventually generate half of its earnings from technology, and this latest win takes it one step closer to realising its ambition.