SME Ombudsman Supports $200 Million Export Contract Signing for SMEs with Kazakhstan Amid Export Difficulties

Support for Quarantine Exemption to Companies Facing Contract Difficulties Due to Mandatory Isolation
Secured $200 Million Contract for Electric Furnace Supply to Kazakhstan

Jubong Park, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman. / Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] The Small and Medium Business Ombudsman announced on the 11th that it supported a $200 million electric furnace supply contract with a Kazakhstani client for a small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) that was struggling because it could not invite Kazakhstani client representatives due to the mandatory two-week quarantine upon entering Korea.

SAC, which manufactures steel plants (electric furnaces), faced severe management difficulties this year due to the downturn caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As domestic and foreign companies stopped placing orders, the order volume, which was about 10 billion KRW last year, was nonexistent this year.

The company was at risk of losing the contract as Kazakhstani company representatives scheduled to visit Korea in November for contract signing could not enter the country due to COVID-19. Kazakhstan is one of the six 'quarantine reinforcement target countries' designated by the Korean government, requiring a two-week quarantine in a designated facility and an additional diagnostic test within three days of entry, making quarantine exemption approvals more stringent.

After learning of this situation during a regulatory difficulty meeting and on-site visit for companies entering overseas markets held on October 20th with the Chungnam Regional Small and Medium Venture Business Administration and KOTRA, Small and Medium Business Ombudsman Park Joobong immediately formed a response team the next day. After verifying the facts, they actively requested prompt support from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result, within three days of receiving the company's request, they secured priority visa screening cooperation from the client, and within a week, they helped obtain quarantine exemption approval.

On November 23rd, SAC held final contract negotiations and a factory tour with the Kazakhstani client representatives who had entered the country. As a result, on December 10th, they signed a design contract for a $4 million alloy electric furnace plant (with an annual production capacity of 100,000 tons). Based on this design contract, they plan to continue securing orders for electric furnace facility construction worth $190 million by May next year.

Ombudsman Park Joobong said, “We are grateful to the relevant ministries for actively cooperating so that our technologically capable SMEs could successfully conclude overseas plant supply contracts,” and “Since most SMEs face great difficulties such as lacking overseas branches, manpower shortages, and COVID-19 self-quarantine, we will continue to support them so that they do not miss export opportunities due to these challenges.”

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