Ministry of SMEs and Startups Designates 200 New 'Global Hidden Champions' Leading Export Markets

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Cheol-hyun] The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Kwon Chil-seung, hereinafter referred to as the Ministry) announced on the 27th that it has designated 200 promising small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as 'Global Hidden Champions' for 2022, who will lead the global market. The Global Hidden Champions project is a collaborative effort between the Ministry, local governments, and regional related organizations to nurture export SMEs with innovation and growth potential as export-leading companies and regional representative enterprises.

This year, promising companies with high sales and export performance despite the difficulties caused by COVID-19 applied for the Global Hidden Champions designation, and after regional evaluations, a total of 200 companies were finally selected. The newly designated Global Hidden Champions have an average sales revenue of 23.5 billion KRW and an average export amount of 10.63 million USD, with exports accounting for more than 50% of sales revenue. Additionally, 55% (110 companies) of the newly designated companies are located outside the metropolitan area, representing a large number of companies with high potential to grow into excellent companies driving the regional economy.

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The 200 companies newly designated as Global Hidden Champions this year will receive customized package support provided by the Ministry, local governments, and private financial institutions for the next four years from the date of designation. Regarding the support details, the Ministry will grant additional points when applying for overseas marketing support projects such as export vouchers and research and development (R&D) projects until 2025 for the designated Global Hidden Champions this year. They can also receive support for prototype production, education and consulting, production process, and quality improvement operated by 17 local governments. Financial support such as expanded policy fund limits and preferential loan interest rates will also be provided by private financial institutions.

Kang Ki-seong, Director of the Global Growth Policy Division at the Ministry, said, "We will fully support the newly designated companies so that they can leap forward as global companies leading the world market."

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