Lee Hyo-sik is Finance Desk editor at The Korea Times. He manages finance-related stories on macroeconomics, banks, stocks, bonds, crypto etc. He is passionate about covering what's happening in Korea's financial industry and explaining it to both Korean and non-Korean readers. You can reach him at leehs@koreatimes.co.kr. Your insights and feedbacks are always appreciated.
Midland Power helps small biz partners head abroad
Employees of Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO) pose with CEOs of the company’s small business partners at the Cirebon power plant in Indonesia on June 11. KOMIPO organized the visit to the Southeast Asian nation as part of its effort to enable small companies in the field of power generation to enter foreign markets. / Courtesy of KOMIPO
By Lee Hyo-sik
By Lee Hyo-sik
Korea Midland Power (KOMIPO), one of five power generation units of Korea Electric Power Corp., has been spearheading efforts to help its small business partners find new business opportunities abroad.
The company has bought a wide range of equipment from small businesses here when constructing and operating power plants in Indonesia and other countries. It has also bridged local small manufacturers and foreign power plant operators seeking to purchase high-quality parts and equipment from Korea.
On June 11-12, KOMIPO accompanied CEOs of 15 small business partners in a visit to its power plants in Indonesia. They toured the Cirebon and Tanjung Jati power plants, which were both built and are operated by KOMIPO.
About 25 KOMIPO executives and employees held a sales meeting with CEOs of its small businesses. At the gathering, the power generation firm decided to purchase various kinds of equipment from small companies, worth $4 million.
In 2014, KOMIPO’s procurement deal with small suppliers reached $3.6 million, up from $1.5 million in 2013 and $80,000 in 2012.
About 50 Indonesian government officials and power industry executives also attended the sales meeting.
“Besides purchasing power generation-related equipment, we are also helping small business partners directly deal with foreign companies operating power plants,” a KOMIPO spokesman said. “For instance, our Indonesian partner One Plant signed procurement contracts with local small firms, worth $2.5 million. If we build and operate power plants there and in other Southeast Asian countries, small companies will find more business opportunities outside Korea.”
KOMIPO, which has been operating the Cirebon coal power plant since 2012, earned a 20 billion won operating profit in 2014. The company also began operating the Tanjung Jati coal power plant three years ago.
In addition, KOMIPO has introduced a product quality guarantee program for its small partners in a bid to facilitate their advance into foreign markets.
“We test and use a wide range of parts and machinery manufactured by local companies, and then issue a quality warranty in our name,” the spokesman said. “This will help them take part in a bid organized by foreign power generators.”
The company is also holding a series of workshops with small firms abroad so that they can meet government officials and industry experts in foreign countries.
On June 12, six local companies attended a workshop in Indonesia and made a sales pitch to the Indonesian government and Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), a state-run enterprise which has a monopoly electricity distribution.