Kibo Takes Supportive Actions with Related Organizations to Become a Global Vaccine Hub

Establishing a Full-Cycle Support System for the Vaccine Industry through Vaccine Exports and Financial Assistance

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] On the 13th, the Korea Technology Finance Corporation (Chairman Kim Jong-ho, hereinafter referred to as Kibo) and nine other major vaccine industry support organizations held an online briefing session to guide domestic vaccine and raw material companies on each institution's support projects to achieve the goal of becoming a global vaccine hub.

This briefing was held as a side event of the cooperation meeting of the 10 major related organizations jointly hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The 10 major vaccine industry support organizations signed a memorandum of understanding last November to link their projects and strengthen cooperation in order to carry out the 'K-Global Vaccine Hub Vision and Strategy' promoted at the government-wide level.

In August last year, the government announced plans to leap forward as a global vaccine hub based on Korea's excellent biopharmaceutical production capabilities and skilled human resources, focusing on strategies such as rapid development of domestic COVID-19 vaccines, expansion of global production cooperation, and swift establishment of a global vaccine hub foundation.

At this briefing, the roles and goals of institutions supporting the entire vaccine industry cycle and the key initiatives for this year were announced. Kibo plans to strengthen financial and non-financial support so that domestic vaccine, raw material, and equipment companies can secure technological competitiveness and lead the global market to realize the K-Global Vaccine Hub.

First, a total of 900 billion KRW in guarantees will be supplied this year to six major new industry sectors, including vaccine, raw material, and equipment companies. In particular, vaccine, raw material, and equipment companies are classified as core sectors and will receive preferential guarantees with ▲increased guarantee ratio (85%→95%) and ▲reduced guarantee fee rate (by 0.3 percentage points). Additionally, the scope of technology guarantee support has been expanded to companies with total assets under 500 billion KRW, enabling companies that were previously ineligible due to size limits to receive technology guarantee support.

Kim Young-chun, director of Kibo, said, "We plan to strengthen financial and non-financial support related to technology development and commercialization so that vaccine, raw material, and equipment companies with excellent technology can secure global competitiveness," adding, "We will do our best to support in cooperation with government ministries and related organizations."

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