US SVB Bankruptcy, Any Impact on Local Ventures?…Gyeongbuk Economic Organizations Hold Countermeasure Meeting

Gyeongbuk Province held the '2023 Economic and Industrial Bureau Related Agencies Current Issues Meeting' on the 17th at the Gyeongbuk Economic Promotion Agency conference room, with officials from the province and related agencies under the Economic and Industrial Bureau in attendance.

On this day, nine organizations participated, including the Gyeongbuk Economic Promotion Agency, Gyeongbuk Creative Economy Innovation Center, Gyeongbuk Technopark, Gyeongbuk Bio Industry Research Institute, Gyeongbuk Hybrid Parts Research Institute, and Gyeongbuk Trade.

This meeting was organized to analyze the impact of the bankruptcy of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a U.S. venture company lending bank, on local venture companies and to discuss response strategies, as well as to discover new national government-funded projects in the economic and industrial sector for 2024.

First, the Economic Promotion Agency and the Creative Economy Innovation Center presented on the impact of the SVB bankruptcy on local venture companies and discussed future response strategies.

An economic organization meeting is being held in the Gyeongbuk region.

Both organizations reported that the impact of the SVB bankruptcy on the region is not significant, and it was understood that local venture companies are not currently restrained in raising funds through venture capital due to this incident.

However, they anticipated that due to the U.S. financial system's interest rate cut policy aimed at stabilizing the market, investments by local venture companies expanding into Southeast Asia and other global markets may shrink in the future.

Gyeongbuk Province stated that although local companies are not expected to suffer direct damage from the SVB incident for the time being, it will strengthen monitoring of damage situations for local companies, including venture companies expanding overseas, in cooperation with related agencies such as the Economic Promotion Agency and the Creative Economy Innovation Center, and will devise support measures for local venture companies if necessary.

Following this, Gyeongbuk Province and related agencies reviewed the promotion plans and difficulties of newly discovered national government-funded projects and discussed response strategies to secure national funding.

The newly proposed projects on this day totaled 12, focusing on new industries such as materials, parts, and advanced bio sectors, including technology development and demonstration to respond to mixed road traffic conditions, establishment of fire safety and reliability infrastructure for future car parts, construction of a Korean-style hemp industrialization support platform, and fostering core bio-life materials in Gyeongbuk.

Gyeongbuk Province plans to promptly proceed with supplementing the projects in cooperation with related agencies to align with government policies, visiting central government ministries for explanations, and ultimately securing national government funding.

In particular, as the Andong Bio Industrial Complex has been designated as a candidate site for a national industrial complex, the province plans to focus efforts on discovering new national government-funded projects in the bio sector, including plant vaccines, hemp, and veterinary pharmaceuticals.

Lee Young-seok, Director of the Economic and Industrial Bureau of Gyeongbuk Province, said, “We will continue to cooperate with related agencies to monitor and respond to the impact of the SVB incident on the regional economy and make every effort to discover new national government-funded projects in line with government policies.”

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