Government Holds Export Briefing for Nuclear Power Companies... "Strengthening Support Policies"

Panoramic view of Unit 3 at the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first domestically exported nuclear power plant.
[Photo by Korea Electric Power Corporation]

[Asia Economy Sejong=Reporter Lee Jun-hyung] The government is strengthening export support policies for nuclear power plant companies.

On the 20th, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it held an 'Export Briefing and Meeting for Nuclear Power Plant Companies' together with the Korea Nuclear Power Export Industry Association at the InterContinental Parnas Hotel in Seoul. This briefing was organized to diversify the export sectors of nuclear power companies beyond reactor types to include equipment, operation, and maintenance.

Export support organizations such as the Export-Import Bank of Korea and KOTRA introduced support programs for nuclear power companies, including export credit guarantees and acquisition of overseas certifications. In particular, the trade finance support projects of the Export-Import Bank and the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation attracted attention from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and mid-sized companies facing difficulties due to high exchange rates and high interest rates. The trade finance support projects provide export loans, export promotion loans, and export guarantee insurance.

KOTRA established new export support projects to assist nuclear power equipment companies. Representative projects include the Nuclear Power Global Partnering Project and the Overseas Branch Establishment Project for Nuclear Power Equipment Export Companies. The Global Partnering Project supports cooperation between domestic nuclear power companies and global companies through KOTRA's overseas trade centers. The Overseas Branch Establishment Project has KOTRA's overseas trade centers act as overseas branches for SMEs in the nuclear power equipment sector. KOTRA also plans to promote support for nuclear power companies to acquire overseas certifications by utilizing export vouchers.

During the meeting, measures to expand exports of nuclear power equipment were discussed. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy also collected difficulties faced by nuclear power companies. Park Jae-young, Director General of Trade Policy at the Ministry, said at the meeting, "We will expand export support projects to help nuclear power equipment companies' exports," adding, "We will resolve the difficulties faced by SMEs in the export field one by one." He further stated, "Considering that most nuclear power equipment companies are SMEs and mid-sized companies with insufficient export performance, we will also strengthen export support policies such as export growth financing."

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