World’s Biggest Shipbuilder Makes USD 6 Bn Blockchain Move

South Korean business conglomerate Hyundai Group is continuing with its seemingly relentless blockchain drive – with one of its largest and most lucrative business arms adopting the technology.

Hyundai Heavy Industries, which operates shipbuilding and factory assembly activities, will use the HiPRO blockchain platform – created by Hyundai’s own blockchain division – to manage purchases, factories, smart factory incentives and supply chain management for shipbuilding materials. The company is the world’s biggest shipbuilder, and recently posted a USD 2.4 million net profit for the first three months of 2019.

Per Hanguk Kyungjae, Hyundai Heavy Industries intends to process an estimated USD 6 billion per year through the blockchain platform, including negotiation processes, contracts, receipts, payments and material procurement “with tens of thousands of partner companies.”

As previously reported, Hyundai’s affiliate Hdac Technology operates the HDAC Coin cryptocurrency and recently announced it would commercialize a new blockchain-as-a-service (BaaS) solution, in addition to blockchain-powered construction, real estate, financing and production offerings.

Meanwhile, the South Korean Ministry of Science, Technology & IT and the government-run Korea Internet Development Agency (KISA) say they will “assess the progress of 15 ongoing public and private blockchain pilot projects” at a blockchain summit held in Seoul.

Representatives for all 15 projects will present progress reports at the Blockchain Tech Biz Conference in the South Korean capital, reports Digital Daily.

The ministry is spearheading the government’s blockchain push, and has previously stated that it envisions blockchain technology being applied to “every stratum of society.”

Elsewhere, Germany’s central bank president Jens Weidmann said that a trial project using blockchain to transfer and settle securities and cash proved more costly and less speedy than the traditional way. However, the prototype “in principle fulfilled all basic regulatory features for financial transactions,” Bloomberg reported.
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Shipping industry and blockchain

Bridget van Kralingen, senior vice president of global industries, clients, platforms, and blockchain at IBM, discusses the use of blockchain technology in the global shipping industry.