Could Locus Chain Blockchain be the platform of choice for UAE’s Blockchain Strategy?
Even more so, could Locus Chain be the Blockchain platform of Choice for entire MENA?
In the past week a press release was published stating that a UAE Team would be backing the Locus Chain World Summit in Singapore. On reading further it was notable that the UAE delegates were also in one way or another connected to the Locus Chain Foundation. Her Excellency Shaikha Moaza Obaid Suhail Al Maktoum, is a senior advisor to Locus Chain Foundation as well as Director General of Pride Holding. Mr. Khalfan Saeed Al Mazrouei, Locus Chain Foundation co-founder and chairman (Middle East & Europe) also once held the position of former Undersecretary for the Personal Department of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the United Arab Emirates, opened the Summit.
Who and what is Locus Chain?
Taking a step back, Locus Chain claims to be the next generation Blockchain platform of choice compared to the Bitcoin, Ethereum, IOST and others. According to Locus Chain the platform is better because it is fast, light, flexible and very secure. The Singaporean based company, Bloom Technology with technical offices in South Korea and Japan, are the developers of Locus Chain, and claim to have created a unique new technology called “Dynamic State Sharding” which solves the problem of ledger size and AWTC (Account-Wise Transaction Chain) allowing fast transaction approval without decreasing the speed as more transactions are taken on.
According to Bloom Technology, Locus Chain is the next generation platform for cryptocurrencies and can be applied to B2B, B2C, C2C, and M2M transactions in all industries including energy, communication and IOT. According to Lee Sang Youn CEO of Locus Chain, “The fourth generation Blockchain technology is empowered with cutting-edge security access and transaction with biometric inputs. We are now applying the Blockchain technology, which seemed to be far away from the real world, to real life and develop it as a technology that anyone can use”
For more technical information on Locus Chain you can check Locus Chain whitepaper.
Building Partnerships in ME Africa and Asia
Already LCF (Locus Chain Foundation) has formed strategic partnerships with numerous companies and government entities across Africa ME and Asia. Examples include OMENE Holding LLC operated by Nigerian Prince Franklin E. Omene, ‘ONCOMED Solutions’, a medical service company headquartered in Dubai, ‘JH BUILDER’ which is operated by Pengiran Alli bin Pengiran Hj Mohammad, ex-director of religious affairs Brunei.
In addition Locus Chain Foundation has taken up its MENA headquarters in Dubai Silicon Oasis and held their official launch at the Dubai World Trade Center earlier this year. The launch was attended by political and business officials from MENA and India including names such as Her highness Sheikha Mozah Al Maktoum, the princess of Dubai, Sheikh Abu Omar, the prince of Ajman royal family, Prince Franklin E. Omene, Sheikh Al Esayi, property developer in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Nazeer, Chief Ministers of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Antonio Cecere, Director, Monaco Diamond Exchange and many others.
Forging Partnerships across the Arab World
In June 2018, Locus Foundation signed a strategic agreement with Tunisia Economic City, one of the largest Mediterranean city projects to utilize the Locus Chain Blockchain technology for currency settlement and service. As stated by Lee Sang Youn, CEO of Locus Chain, “This is a step towards building a strong presence in the Gulf Cooperation Council.” The Tunisia Economic City is jointly owned by Tunisia and KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). The TEC is a large-scale project in the eastern peninsula of Tunisia. It is expected to serve as an international business and technology hub connecting Europe, Africa and Asia. It will also act as Africa’s gateway to Europe and complement the economic growth of GCC countries.
The cooperation agreement is aimed to apply Blockchain platform to the entire city construction projects to be used as a base technology and settlement currency for various industries such as finance, communication, medical, shopping, automatic vehicle and artificial intelligence (AI). Lee Sang Youn said, “TEC is one of the most advanced smart city projects the world economy has ever seen. When the ‘Locus Chain’ Blockchain platform is applied to the TEC project, it will be used as a transaction and authentication method for various industries and will provide an ideal management and service system ensuring high transparency and security across the industry.”
Jackey Choi, the ME Operations Director at Locus Chain Foundation, added, “The agreement will enhance the TEC’s future-readiness through technological precision and innovation, and benefit, in a broad perspective, all similar projects in the MENA region.”
Locus Chain Foundation also signed an agreement with Mauritian ICT Service provider State Informatics Limited to introduce blockchain technology to the IT systems in Mauritius among other African countries.
In July 2018, Locus Chain Foundation was awarded outstanding Global leadership Award, under the technology leadership category at the Global Economic Summit held in Swissotel in Dubai. Lee Sang Youn, stated at the ceremony, “LCF has already signed agreements with 32 countries to implement its blockchain technology. The Tunisia Economic City, the largest Mediterranean smart city, and the Mauritius government are two entities we have most recently signed agreements with”.
Dr. Usman Zafar, senior Advisor to LCF stated, “We believe that Blockchain technology can bring drastic changes and justice in the area of financial transactions and we are planning to hugely invest in the technology sector of the MENA region especially in the UAE. Our detailed investment plans will be announced soon”.
Attending the event were some notable names such as Mohammed Ibrahim Al Ali, Manager of HR Information and Smart Transformation Center for Government of Dubai, Dr. Ahmad Tahlak, President and Chairman of Levenbert, Ms. Basma Essa, Senior Business Development Manager for the Private office of HH Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum, Mr. Soo Han Cho, Director of Bloom Technology, Korea, Mr. Zahir Paduvadukam, Director for Government Relations, Investha International.
Conclusion
Given the high level of support that Locus Chain Foundation has garnered from the UAE in both official and private channels, as well as the partnerships already forged across the region with advisors and the chairman and co-founder from the UAE itself, a country which is leading projects such as Smart Cities and Blockchain, it is not far-fetched that Locus Chain might become the platform of choice for the UAE nationwide Blockchain implementation and then maybe even the entire GCC and Arab region.
Maybe in the future Blockchain will be able to unify the region with one cryptocurrency across cities, countries and nations, something that the Arab world has not been able to do in centuries, we will just have to wait and see.
