South Korea Is Looking to Put Trade Finance on the Blockchain

This article is contributed by our content partner, Nexchange NOW.

The South Korean government wants all trade to be on the blockchain, Coindesk reports.

South Korean Finance Minister Hong Nam-ki introduced the Development Plan for Digital Trade on Monday, and per the plan, the government will be using technologies such as blockchain, AI, and 5G to rev up the country’s trade and exports.

“We will build a digital trading platform that can be easily and conveniently used in all stages of export, such as contracts, customs and logistics,” said Hong.

The plan calls for all of the nation’s trade finance activities to be placed on the blockchain. All relevant documents will thus be shared there, where they can be checked by financial institutions, while “export bonds will be made available in the same way so that banks can check for duplicate issuings.”

The transition is set to finished by 2021, while foreign exchange transactions are slated to start on the blockchain “within months.”

As Coindesk notes, blockchain trade finance has been immensely popular lately. The PBOC, the HKMA, and several other policymakers have been rolling out their platforms while regulators such as the China Banking Association (CBA) have launched theirs. Voltron, the platform developed by HSBC, Stan Chart, and six other banks, recently carried out a blockchain-based letter of credit transaction denominated in Chinese yuan.

Image via Nexchange NOW

Original Article: http://www.nexchangenow.com/news/blockchain/71141/south-korea-is-looking-to-put-trade-finance-on-the-blockchain/