Technology giant Microsoft has partnered with AMIS and the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) to form Asia’s first and the most advanced consortium blockchain network on Azure.

The consortium members so far include Ubon Financial, Cathay Financial Holdings, MegaBank, KGI, Taishin, and CTBC Bank. Microsoft is collaborating with these banks to further develop blockchain opportunities in the Taiwan financial market.

AMIS uses distributed ledger technology and cryptographic authentication for its blockchain solutions, which aims to streamline financial business operations and reduce the risk of money laundering and other cyber-attacks.

Microsoft Azure, a growing collection of integrated cloud services, is not only compliant with various international standards and certifications, but also has built-in security and privacy features, and is the only platform with Blockchain-as-a-Service.

Azure is AMIS’s preferred platform for its blockchain offering, as it offers unique features including highly secure and controllable platform that complies with international and industry regulations and standards; open, interoperable, flexible and scalable platform; availability of public, private and hybrid cloud models; and business and technical support from local team based in Taiwan.

“Blockchain is a catalyst that promotes cross-sector collaboration. At the moment, companies incur high costs when they perform any cross-organization transactions and this can be solved using blockchain technology. The offering can also inspire further innovative solutions for the industry”, Danny Ting, National Tech Officer, Microsoft Taiwan said.

According to the official announcement, the pilot blockchain project is developed using ITRI’s technology and Azure. AMIS chose Ethereum, to develop permissioned blockchain, an infrastructure specific to the needs of Taiwan’s financial market. ITRI provided its advanced technology to create an internal application program interface (API), while Azure provided high-speed cloud computing to ensure high security and efficiency for the blockchain infrastructure. In addition, Microsoft also played a role in ensuring that the infrastructure met the specific requirements of financial institutions in Taiwan.

“The project spearheaded by AMIS along with ITRI will bring more efficiency and cost-savings for companies in Taiwan as it provides options for two-way payment, cross-field integration, speed up cash flow as well as app or community payment apps in the future”, the release said.

Besides Azure, Microsoft is bringing its global expertise and knowledge to help companies in Taiwan drive further innovations with blockchain. In April, it became a strategic partner of R3 Consortium, and is the preferred cloud services provider for its R3 Lab and Research Center. In June, Microsoft introduced Project Bletchley which outlines its vision to support consortium blockchain powered by Azure.