China Shipbuilding Company to Explore Blockchain for Upstream Supply Chain Financing
China Shipbuilding Industry Company Limited (CSICL) will be exploring how it can apply blockchain to financing its upstream suppliers. CSICL is a subsidiary of one of the two largest Chinese shipping conglomerates, China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC).
CSICL signed a strategic cooperation agreement on supply chain services with Shanghai Bank. According to the agreement, CSICL and Shanghai Bank will purportedly develop a blockchain-based online supply chain finance platform for upstream suppliers of CSIC.
The platform would reportedly provide financing for supply chains servicing the firm’s 10 major product sections: marine engineering, storage batteries, shipbuilding, turbochargers, tobacco machinery, diesel engines, large steel structure fabrications, port machinery, gas meters and automation distribution systems.
The recent agreement is part of Shanghai Bank’s plan to improve business processes using new technologies. Last October, Shanghai Bank reportedly launched its Uplink e-Chain an online supply chain financial service platform for small and medium enterprises.
Blockchain technology has been widely applied across the shipping industry and in various supply chains.