Kaia Foundation and PT. Pelayaran Korindo Launch Galactica: Asia’s First Ship RWA Token Project
Seoul, September 3, 2024 — Kaia Foundation (Kaia DLT Foundation, hereinafter referred to as the Foundation), established to expand the domestic and international business of global Layer 1 blockchain platform Kaia, will launch ‘Galactica’, a ship RWA tokenization joint venture with PT. Pelayaran Korindo, a major Indonesian shipping company, in early Q4 of this year. The Foundation and Pelayaran Korindo have been working closely with InvestaX, a Singapore-based company that holds the RWA token trading license, to ensure the smooth operation of the Galactica project.
Galactica, the first ship RWA token project in Asia, will leverage tokenization technology to bring an innovative ship purchasing process to Indonesia, which has the largest number of islands in the world (approximately 17,000) and a high demand for ship purchases. Galactica will allow for piecemeal investments using RWA tokens to fund the purchase of vessels, streamlining the traditional ship purchase process and allowing both shipowners and investors to share in the benefits.
Indonesia is a mineral-rich country, but currently has a policy of banning the export of raw minerals such as nickel, copper, and tin. As a result, raw mineral refineries are located throughout the islands, and the demand for domestic seaborne transportation of processed ores is rapidly increasing. In addition, in 2023, the Indonesian government released the Golden Indonesia 2045 roadmap, which set a major goal of modernizing the country’s shipping industry, including replacing its aging domestic fleet. As such, demand for new and second-hand ships in Indonesia is expected to remain quite strong in the coming years.
Indonesian shipowners face liquidity risk when purchasing a ship, as they must pay 100% of the purchase price outright and complete the ship’s nationalization and registration before banks will provide financing. Pelayaran Korindo analyzes that the underdeveloped ship financing system in Indonesia and Southeast Asia is hindering the growth of the shipping industry. As of 2023, there are 11,422 vessels registered in Indonesia, but most of them are older than 25 years old. Galactica plans to digitize Indonesia’s ship finance to expand access to retail investors from around the world who have been unable to participate, and to introduce ship RWA token products to global markets beyond Asia.
CEO of Galactica, Young Kim said, “We are excited to introduce a tokenization project for a new RWA product called ship finance in collaboration with Pelayaran Korindo and InvestaX.” He added, “Galactica plans to expand its digital asset investment portfolio for more diverse types of ships in more countries. Through this, we will digitize traditional shipping finance, attract global capital, and contribute to the expansion of Kaia’s RWA ecosystem.”
“The foundation has been working closely with Pelayaran Korindo and InvestaX since last year to launch the Galactica service,” said Seo Sangmin, Chairman of the Kaia DLT Foundation. “Galactica, Kaia’s representative RWA token project, will serve as a real-world example of sound RWA asset tokenization, while also enriching the Kaia RWA ecosystem by enhancing collaboration with various RWA partners.”
On the other hand, Pelayaran Korindo is a comprehensive logistics company specializing in the shipping business, primarily in the Indonesian region. In addition to enhancing Web 3.0 companies’ access to real-world assets, it also shares its experience in global business, local expertise in Southeast Asia, and its partner network.
