Bank of Korea to have surveyed 260 business places for export perspectives

More than half of Korean manufacturers expect exports to improve next year. Especially, exports from petrochemical, refining and machinery equipment sectors will increase, led by IT (Information Technology) companies including semiconductors. On the other hand, exports of shipbuilding, automobiles, steel, and other heavy industries are expected to decline from this year. It is analyzed that polarization will be intensified by industry.

The Bank of Korea surveyed 260 manufacturers nationwide on the export prospects in 2018, with 54.2% of respondents expecting exports to increase next year compared to this year. Besides, 28.1% of responding companies expected to record similar exports next year, and only 17.7% said that exports will decline.

Especially, 22.3% of respondents predicted that exports would increase by 5 ~ 10% next year, followed by 16.9% with less than 5% and 15.0% with more than 10%.

By industry, 66.7% of IT companies including semiconductors expect exports to increase next year followed by petrochemicals and refineries (64.5%) and machinery equipment (62.1%). Among them, 28.2% and 24.1% of IT and machinery makers expected export growth to exceed 10%, respectively, which is expected to increase exports more than other industries. Meanwhile, the shipbuilding industry, which is in the process of restructuring, expects exports to decline to 57.1%, which is expected to continue sluggish next year. Automobiles and steel also accounted for 27.3% and 37.5% of exports, respectively, in the next year.

The percentage of companies that responded to traditional export destinations such as China, the United States and Japan was 52.9%, while those of Southeast Asia, EU (EU) and India were 51.1% To 48.9%. The major factors for forecasting exports growth were `new market exploration efforts` (23.8%), `improving quality competitiveness` (18.9%) and `improving the economy of exporting countries (18.4%)`. By contrast, those who predicted a decrease in exports responded to "intensified global competition (22.7%)", "price competitiveness weakened (21.1%)" and "poor economy of export destination countries" (12.5%). Especially, among the factors affecting the export situation in next year, global demand was evaluated as a positive factor, and global competition and protection trade were the main difficulties.

The company proposed expanding R & D investment in order to expand exports, strengthening quality and price competitiveness, and opening new markets. It also said that the role of the government should be strengthened, such as expanding technology development support and tax benefits, and strengthening trade negotiations to ease the protective trade trend.

Yang Jun-mo, a professor in the Department of Economics at Yonsei University, stated, "The semiconductor sector is becoming more and more concentrated in the export sector." In order to restore export competitiveness, companies in other industries need to expand their investments and create a better environment for enterprises. It should be accompanied by institutional and policy support. "

By Lee Mi Jong lmj0919@


[ copyright ⓒ The Digitaltimes ]