Samsung SDS Co., IT subsidiary of South Korea’s largest conglomerate Samsung Group, on Thursday announced that it signed an agreement to provide Nexledger, its proprietary blockchain platform for business, to its battery-making affiliate Samsung SDI Co.

Under the agreement, Samsung SDS will apply Nexledger to the battery maker’s electronic contract management system, starting with those used at overseas offices. The company claimed that Samsung SDI would be the first manufacturing company in Korea to adopt a blockchain solution.

Blockchain is a type of distributed ledger where all participants share encrypted data, rather than having a centralized ledger managed by a reputable intermediary. It provides strengthened security and reduces transaction time as it allows only the parties involved in a certain transaction to share data privately.

Thanks to such advantages, the blockchain-based electronic contract management system is expected to prevent documental forging and make it easier to verify original copy of a contract, said the company.

Samsung SDS began commercial application of its blockchain solution for a financial institution early this year and is getting ready to apply Nexledger to a shipping consortium, which is participated by the country’s main flag container carrier Hyundai Merchant Marine Co., Korea Customs Service, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries.

Shares of Samsung SDS finished Thursday at 176,000 won ($154.12), up 1,000 won or 0.57 percent from the previous session.

By Oh Chan-jong

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