"Three Key Keywords for SMEs and Ventures Unaffected by COVID-19: Eco-friendly, Contactless, Bio"

Jungjingong Publishes Field Survey Brief on Small and Medium Venture Enterprises

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Small and Medium Business Corporation (Chairman Kim Hak-do, hereinafter referred to as SBC) announced on the 24th that it has published the 'Small and Medium Business Field Survey Brief,' which contains industry-specific economic outlook weather maps and trends based on cases collected and analyzed from field departments.

According to this report, despite the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic causing difficult domestic and international conditions, small and medium-sized ventures felt that the economy was improving; however, disparities were observed depending on region and industry. Traditional manufacturing industries such as machinery and textiles were severely impacted by COVID-19, but sectors like eco-friendly, non-face-to-face, and bio performed better compared to other industries and are expected to continue growing.

In the eco-friendly sector, especially electric vehicles and other eco-friendly cars achieved record-high domestic sales and exports last year despite the pandemic. Additionally, manufacturers of eco-friendly future automobile parts such as electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles, as well as electric bicycles, experienced significant growth. The shipbuilding industry saw orders decrease by 19.9% year-on-year to $18.28 billion last year, but this year, due to environmental regulations prompting the replacement of aging ships and increased demand for LNG and other eco-friendly vessels, sales growth is expected for small and medium-sized ship parts manufacturers.

Fields closely related to the expansion of the non-face-to-face economy, such as cold chain logistics for fresh foods, the electrical and electronics sector including semiconductors and displays, smart healthcare including telemedicine and non-face-to-face health management, and big data and AI sectors saw significant sales increases last year and are expected to continue growing this year.

The biohealth sector has emerged as a new export engine, with global demand for Korean medical device products such as diagnostic kits and ventilators greatly increasing, based on the excellence of K-quarantine.

SBC also introduced the voices of small and medium ventures in government priority support areas such as future cars, semiconductors, bio sectors, and regulatory free zones in this field survey brief. The report is available on the SBC website. Chairman Kim Hak-do stated, "By leveraging the strengths of SBC’s nationwide field organization, we continuously monitor the trends and difficulties faced by small and medium ventures," adding, "We will promptly support traditional manufacturing companies severely affected by COVID-19 with emergency management stabilization funds or business transformation, and actively back promising companies in eco-friendly, non-face-to-face, and bio sectors with facility investments and overseas expansion to help them grow further."

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