South Korea’s integrated circuit chip maker KONA I said Thursday it would participate in a project to establish smart card platforms in Sichuan Province, China.
The Korean company, which produces chips and software installed on credit and public transportation cards, universal subscriber identity modules, and digital IDs, is the No.1 IC chip manufacturer in the domestic market and ranks second in the U.S. by market share.
The company achieved $100 million of exports last year.
“KONA I will set up a smart card platform with which the local residents can use single smart cards to pay for bills, health care services and transportation,” said an official from the Seoul-based firm.
The smart cards to be distributed to service users will boast a high level of security since they are embedded with NFC chips and security hardware, called Secure Element, according to the official.
KONA I has invested around 30 billion won ($28 million) to develop the smart card platform technologies.
The 900 million-won deal in the Chinese province will be a stepping-stone for the firm to increase its presence in the global ICT platform industry, the company said.
