South Korea's largest trading company, POSCO International, has launched a pilot program to tokenize trade accounts receivable on the blockchain. The trial is expected to accelerate commercial payment speeds among its global subsidiaries.

The company, which generated $22.2 billion in revenue last year from businesses spanning steel, energy, and battery materials, is collaborating with LG Group's technology arm, LG CNS. They are using the Layer-1 blockchain Injective (INJ) to issue, transfer, and settle receivables, as disclosed by both companies in a press briefing to CoinDesk.

This trial utilizes accounts receivable generated from actual trade between POSCO International's overseas operations and their counterparties, rather than simulated transactions.

Accounts receivable represent money owed to a company for goods that have been shipped but not yet paid for. Currently, these debts are typically tracked separately by the buyer, seller, and bank, and the settlement process often takes several days before funds are released.

The companies stated that placing accounts receivable on a shared blockchain ledger creates a single record that can be transferred and settled, while the asset itself carries embedded compliance rules.

"This proof of concept is significant because it validates the applicability of AI and blockchain technology using real transaction data and processes," a spokesperson for POSCO International said. The company plans to expand the project into actual production applications after completing the pilot later this year.

Recent industry attention has largely focused on the tokenization of funds and stocks. Asset managers including BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, Apollo, Fidelity, Janus Henderson, and Mubadala Capital have already put funds on the blockchain, betting that the infrastructure can streamline issuance, settlement, and collateral management. The tokenized asset market has grown rapidly in recent years and is now valued at $35 billion, with Citibank projecting it could reach $5.5 trillion by 2030.

Trade finance represents another promising application. Accounts receivable represent real commercial debts between companies, enabling them to more efficiently mobilize working capital on a blockchain platform while providing banks and financing partners with a shared view of the assets.

South Korea has emerged as one of the more active markets for enterprise blockchain applications. Earlier this month, automaker Hyundai Motor began using stablecoins for internal fund transfers between its U.S. and Mexico operations. Stablecoin issuer Circle recently partnered with Kakao Group and Toss Bank to explore stablecoin payment infrastructure.

By testing on the Injective platform, POSCO and LG CNS are extending this momentum into the global trade finance sector. LG CNS has previously participated in central bank digital currency pilot projects for South Korean banks and operates tokenization platforms for KOSCOM and Mirae Asset Securities.