By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
For Korea Special Paper owner Jeon Jae-woo, the KORUS free trade agreement (FTA) is seen as a win-win deal in terms of sales outlook at his Ilsan-based manufacturing company.
And he's just one of the four out of five local CEOs who feel likewise about their businesses after the bilateral trade deal takes effect, a Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) survey showed Thursday.
Almost 80 percent of the 131 chief executives polled were optimistic that sales will rise thanks to extended export opportunities, while 21 percent frowned that the effect may hurt them with heated competition.
``We'll no longer be frogs in a small pond because we get to have better access to a much larger economy,'' said Jeon, who currently does not export overseas. ``Chinese paper manufacturers have been very competitive in the U.S., but hopefully I can also jump in the game there soon with Korea and the U.S. having closer economic ties.''
Export companies were twice more positive than non-export at 26 percent and 13 percent, respectively, and CEOs of small- and medium-sized companies (17 percent) were more enthusiastic than those at large firms (14 percent).
``Smaller businesses tend to rely more heavily on exports,'' said Kim So-jeong, an international trade team official of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business.
Relief of trade barriers and fresh market openings are the main things eyed by these confident CEOs, said Kim.
The expected amount of sales growth was estimated at 17 percent, according to KCCI, and 7 percent said the boost will come immediately after the agreement takes effect, while 45 percent said the hike will rise over a three-year period.
To maximize the impact of the trade pact, a majority of 41 percent called for a reform on business regulations, followed by encouragement of pan-national sentiment (15 percent) and prevention of political hurdles (13 percent).
As CEOs have positive prospects on the deal's effect, the ratification by the National Assembly should be sped up, a KCCI official said.
``Export is a complicated business deal that requires a lot of attention, so governmental support would be helpful in smoothing the rough edges,'' said business owner Jeon.