Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-sure) decided to shore up trade insurance support for SMEs and mid-sized superstars as part of efforts to boost the nation’s exports.
In an effort to achieve the 2015 target of exporting $600 billion at the earliest possible date and support SMEs and mid-sized superstars, K-sure set aside a record high of 42 trillion won for trade insurance support. The figure is up 9 percent over last year’s corresponding support standing at 35.8 trillion won and the highest level since the establishment of the corporation.
Specifically, K-sure has allocated trade insurance support for SMEs at 7 trillion won, up from 6.5 trillion won in 2014, and support for substitute bodies, including local governments, which subscribe to insurances policies instead of SMEs at 8 trillion won, up from 6 trillion won in 2014. Support for SME plant engineering and materials & equipment makers, as well as trade insurance support for foreign exchange fluctuations are set at 2.5 trillion won and 2 trillion won, respectively, an increase of 500 billion won.
SMEs and mid-sized superstars benefiting from trade insurance support are on the rise every year. The number of such beneficiaries surged 18.8 percent from 11,826 in 2013 to 14,047 last year.
While presiding over the 2015 management strategy meeting with K-sure executives, regional headquarters heads and department chiefs at the K-sure headquarters in downtown Seoul on Feb. 5, K-sure Chairman and President Kim Young-hak called for the corporation to provide all available resources to expand trade insurance support to SMEs and mid-sized superstars.
“Targeting trade insurance support for SMEs and mid-sized superstars will give a leg-up to the advancement of the government’s achieving of the 2015 export target of $600 billion,” he said.
K-sure plans to increase mid- and long-term project finance support for SMEs to 2.5 trillion won, a 25 percent jump. Besides, the corporation decided to ramp up SMEs’ export safety net and support for foreign exchange fluctuations and management risks by expanding group contracts with diverse organizations, including local governments. K-sure plans to open the tentatively named K-sure Foreign Exchange Risk Management Support Center to cope with greater foreign exchange rate volatility is feared to be caused by the prolonging of a low yen. The corporation also plans to expand credit guarantee for SME plant engineering companies wanting to enter overseas construction markets and emerging countries, and mid- and long-term project financing support.
“To counter these challenges, we at K-sure improved our on-site support for SME exporters through the introduction of the ‘regional headquarters system.’ With more authorities granted to expedite decision making, these regional headquarters now better facilitate exporters,” Kim said in his New Year’s message. “We will make sure that voices from the frontline of export will be immediately reflected on our business by quickly rendering our services tailored to each exporter based on its circumstances and stage of growth.”
Kim added: “Based on this solid platform, we will focus our capacity to help SME exporters become global enterprises and win overseas project bids. We want Korea to secure the momentum for sustainable growth and decent job creation.”
“Our motto for this year is ‘musinbulip,’ which means one cannot stand tall without trust, in which we shall endeavor to become an agency trusted by our exporters.”
“At the same time, we will not be lackadaisical in our efforts toward organizational innovation from various aspects while fulfilling corporate social responsibilities so that K-sure will be a public corporation adored by the Korean public at large,” Kim added.
