President Kwon Pyong-oh of Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA).

Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) is extending a helping hand to SMEs and middle market enterprises using a combined 16.8 billion won in supplementary budget. KOTRA has set aside 10.8 billion won for an export voucher program, 5 billion won for projects to help SMEs participate in overseas exhibitions, and 1 billion won to send economic missions abroad. These steps are designed to supplement pump-priming to turn around sagging exports.

The export voucher program, which made its debut in May 2017, provides export assistance services for SME exporters. Under the program, up-and-running SMEs and mid-sized superstars are given a voucher of subsidies, and they are allowed to choose things they want among 5,000 export assistance services being provided by about 1,000 implementation organizations.

KOTRA plans to spend 10.8 billion won from supplementary budget allocations in implementing four projects that will allow 218 companies to benefit. KOTRA has set aside 3.8 billion won in the “World Champ Development Project,” a program designed to provide support to make SMEs hidden global champs, 3.7 billion won for a project to provide assistance to make SMEs mid-size superstar exporters, and 900 million won in a project to provide support for nine service segments, such as content and logistics for export industries.

Would-be beneficiaries are required to submit applications from Aug. 12 through Aug. 30. Selected companies will be allowed to receive export assistance services through vouchers for 10 months starting October.

A Korean Pavilion will be opened at overseas exhibitions so Korean SMEs and mid-size superstars can have their products publicized to foreign buyers through one-on-one meeting. KOTRA has put an additional 5 billion won from supplementary budget to provide support to Korean companies’ participation in 35 overseas exhibitions.

To this end, KOTRA has prepared for additional support by already completing a process for selecting participants of overseas exhibitions by the end of May, so select companies will be allowed to make them on overseas exhibitions.

The overseas exhibitions benefiting from the project include the COSMOPROF India Mumbai in India, the Coterie 2019, slated for Sept. 15 to 17 in New York, China Hi-tech Fair Shenzhen, slated for Nov. 13 to 17. The project has primarily targeted strategic “New South Policy Initiative” markets as well as North America and China, designed to cope with the simmering trade dispute between the United States and China.

Delegations participating in overseas fairs will comprise companies specializing in mainstay items such as lifestyle consumer products, general machineries. In a related development, KOTRA has selected seven exhibitions like the 2019 Saudi Health & Beauty, slated for Nov. 1 to Nov. 30 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to explore markets substituting for Iran.

The move is designed to provide support to Korean companies suffering from externalities caused by the United States’ economic sanctions against Iran. Economic delegations will be dispatched on additional four occasions thanks to the supplementary budget. The project is part of the government’s economic diplomacy to provide support to SMEs and mid-size superstars such as one-on-one trade negotiations with foreign buyers.

KOTRA President Kwon Pyung-oh said, “The situation is better described like the phrase ‘Better Late Than Never’.”
Even though some people pointed that the 2019 supplementary budget had missed a golden time, he said, export marketing support for SMEs is essential at a time when H1 exports declined 8.5 percent and uncertainties such as a trade dispute with Japan increased.

KOTRA will do its best to boost exports 10 percent by helping SMEs and mid-sized superstars restore their exports, he added.