Gwangju City Selects 8th and 9th Premium Small Giants Leading the Local Economy

Gwangju City Hall

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 25th that it has selected 36 companies as the ‘8th and 9th Premium Small Giants’ to drive the local economy and awarded certificates online.

The 8th term (September 27, 2020 ? September 30, 2023) includes 19 companies such as Optonics Co., Ltd., Woosung Precision Co., Ltd., and Green Tech Co., Ltd., while the 9th term (January 1, 2021 ? December 31, 2023) includes 17 companies such as CNT Co., Ltd., Otek Carrier Co., Ltd., and Hyunsung Autotech Co., Ltd.

Premium Small Giants are a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) support policy by Gwangju City that discovers and selects about 100 promising local SMEs with high growth potential and will to grow, providing focused support so they can act as driving forces for the local economy.

The selection criteria are manufacturing companies with sales of 5 billion KRW or more (knowledge service industries with 1 billion KRW or more) that have an average annual sales growth rate of 5% or more over the past five years or an R&D investment ratio of 1% or more relative to sales over the past three years.

In this recruitment, a total of 45 companies applied, including 15 companies from the 4th and 5th Premium Small Giants selected in 2017 and 2018 respectively who wished to be re-designated, and 30 companies seeking new selection. After the first document screening, second presentation and on-site evaluation, and the Premium Small Giants Selection Committee review, 36 companies were finally selected.

The selected Premium Small Giants will receive customized projects according to their growth goals and levels during the three-year designation period, including R&D project planning, new technology commercialization, process improvement, and support for preparing for the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Additionally, through the Premium Small Giants Development Council, which includes 23 related organizations such as the Small and Medium Venture Business Administration, Gwangju Technopark, and Credit Guarantee Fund centered on the city, companies will receive linked support projects and joint resolution of business difficulties, as well as collaborative institutional support in various fields such as management, technology, and finance.

Furthermore, they will receive city funding support (up to 40 million KRW per company) for the central government’s smart factory dissemination and expansion project to strengthen corporate competitiveness.

In particular, starting this year, Gwangju City is providing city funding support for the smart factory dissemination and expansion project not only for Premium Small Giants but also for all local SMEs. Through this, the city aims to improve the overall condition of the lagging local industry, lay the foundation for future growth, and leap forward as a manufacturing innovation leading city in the era of the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Since the implementation of Gwangju City’s Premium Small Giants support project, the effects of corporate growth support have appeared as 46 local star companies with high growth potential and excellent social contribution such as job creation, 32 global small giants as export-leading companies with innovation and growth potential, 6 companies recognized for their technology growing into world-class 300 companies, and 2 material, parts, and equipment small giants have been selected for central government SME development public projects.

In particular, the newly designated Premium Small Giant, Anygen Co., Ltd. (peptide bio-material), is receiving focused support from the preliminary (PRE) - Premium Small Giants (sales between 1 billion KRW and less than 5 billion KRW) development project, the first stage of the corporate growth ladder established by Gwangju City, and has made a growth leap to become a Premium Small Giant (sales of 5 billion KRW or more), becoming a model of corporate growth.

Jo In-cheol, Deputy Mayor of Culture and Economy, said, “As COVID-19 has continued for a long time, making it difficult for companies to operate, Gwangju City will walk together to empower local companies struggling through this tough period.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.