LA LETTRE DU KOTRA Février 2002
Centre Coréen du Commerce Extérieur et des Investissements
KOTRA PARIS - 36, avenue Hoche - 75008 Paris Téléphone : +33 (0) 142 25 09 57 - Télécopie : +33 (0) 142 25 09 50 - email : fckotra@hotmail.com M. Seong-Kuk Hong - Directeur Adjoint M. Frédéric Claveau - Chargé de mission
S O M M A I R E
¤ RELATIONS INTERNATIONALES ET BILATERALES Corée du Sud : le regain de confiance résiste à la crise politique Le processus de réunification coréen mis à mal ¤ POLITIQUE ECONOMIQUE, MACRO-ECONOMIE ET RESTRUCTURATIONS Les 10 succès commerciaux de 2001 Les tendances économiques qui marqueront 2002 Korean products' share shrinks in major markets IMF upgrades Korea's growth forecast to 4% ¤ INVESTISSEMENTS Bilateral investment pact near Tax favors eyed for foreign logistics investors Tax incentives eyed to attract MNC regional headquarters Overseas investment by Korean firms falls 10 pct in 2001 ¤SECTEURS ECONOMIQUES - Management Foreign investors to actively exercise rights at shareholders' meeting 40% of world's top 500 companies operating in Korea - Finance, banque et bourse La Corée est-elle prête pour l'euro ? - Technologies de l'information Korean gov't to commercialize eNum technology in 2003 Korean protocol technology adoped as int'l standard - Services : hôtellerie Incheon airport seeks investors for hotels - Pharmacie Multinational phama companies intensify marketing efforts in Korea Transports : automobiles Hyundai lance son petit monospace en Europe Le bénéfice net de KIA a progressé de 67% en 2001 Automakers flooded with domestic orders - Défense Defense minister hints at preference for F-15 Two major arms procurement projects delayed ¤ ENTREPRISES COREENNES Le coréen Amito installe son siege européen à Valenciennes Chaebol R&D spending growing faster than facilities investment Koo In-Hwoi & Koo Cha-Kyung study(5) diversifying lg into world-class enterprise LG group considers taking over powercomm Samsung prêt à entrer au capital de Korean Telecom Le doute perdure sur le rachat de Daewoo Daewoo réduit de 40% ses effectifs à Fameck Micron et Hynix mettent fin à leur projet d'alliance Le coréen Hynix relève ses prétentions pour sa reprise par Micron Infineon discute avec le coréen Hynix ¤ ENTREPRISES FRANÇAISES Renault Samsung to cultivate global sales force Les ventes de Renault-Nissan sauvées par ses résultats en Corée Suez : Tractebel lorgne sur l'Asie. Des contrats supplémentaires pour JC Decaux HFM (Lagardère) lance "25 ans" en Corée
COREE DU SUD : LE REGAIN DE CONFIANCE RESISTE A LA CRISE POLITIQUE Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : Les Echos 30/01/02 LE PROCESSUS DE REUNIFICATION COREEN MIS A MAL Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : La Tribune - 19/02/02LES 10 SUCCES COMMERCIAUX DE 2001
Le Samsung Economic Research Institute (SERI) a récemment réalisé une étude afin de déterminer les 10 produits et services les plus populaires de l'année 2001. En tenant compte des informations recueillies par le SERI et des critiques faites par les médias et les experts, l'institut a dressé une liste de 41 produits que les participants au sondage ont dû choisir pour donner leur avis sur les produits phares de l'année qui s'est écoulée.
Selon les résultats de l'enquête, une différence d'opinion est à noter cette année entre les professionnels et le grand public. Les années précédentes, cette différence était nettement moins visible. Pour prendre un exemple, les internautes offrent une plus grande importance aux avatars (personnages numériques qui représentent dans le cyberespace chacune des personnes se rencontrant pour bavarder en direct, de façon interactive, dans une réunion sociale virtuelle). Les experts, en revanche, semblent préférer les produits de haute technologie comme la SM5 (voiture de gamme moyenne fabriquée par Renault-Samsung) ou les téléviseurs à écran géant et plat. Parmi les produits et les marques de l'année 2000, nous pouvons nous souvenir de Dimchae (un réfrigérateur pour kimchi) et de Starbucks, la fameuse chaîne de cafés américaine. Mais le plus grand succès de 2000 avait sans aucun doute été le site Internet " iloveschool.co.kr " dont la vocation est de réunir d'anciens camarades de classe. Cette année ce site ne faisait pas partie de notre liste, ce qui laisse suggérer que la longévité des produits, même les plus populaires, n'est en aucun cas garantie en raison des facteurs incertains et nombreux du monde d'aujourd'hui. Nul ne sait par conséquent ce que l'avenir réservera aux produits 2001...
1. Choix de la jeune génération : Le film Friends (amis) et les avatars. Selon l'étude, ce sont deux produits culturels, le film Friends et les personnages en 3D, qui ont le plus marqué les jeunes coréens. Friends est un film de gangsters dont le décor est celui des années 70. Le film à succès a battu les records qui avaient été fixés par Joint Security Area, JSA, et Swiri pour devenir ainsi le film coréen qui a enregistré le plus grand nombre d'entrées dans l'histoire du cinéma coréen avec 8,3 millions de tickets vendus. Suite à ce succès, d'autres films de gangsters, dont My Wife is a Gangster et Kick the Moon, se sont également bien comportés au box-office 2001. C'est ainsi qu'un véritable "syndrome du gangster" est né parmi les jeunes. Le langage et l'attitude du gangster type est devenu à la mode. Le film a également attiré la plus vieille génération. L'explication peut être attribuée au fait que Friends rappelait aux nostalgiques de la Corée du développement économique une époque où la vie était peut-être plus dure mais aussi plus simple. Concernant les personnages qui sont conçus par les éditeurs de logiciels et les sociétés de l'Internet, le succès s'explique par les tendances actuelles que l'on peut noter dans la jeunesse coréenne dont l'une des valeurs premières est l'expression de l'individualité. Résultats de cette croissance astronomique, la taille du marché des avatars a explosé et pèse aujourd'hui 20 milliards de wons, soit 15 millions de dollars. De nouveaux personnages ne cessent d'être introduits sur un marché où la demande augmente constamment. Les avatars sont également devenus une nouvelle source de revenus pour les sociétés du Net qui avaient subi de lourdes pertes.
2. Choix des consommateurs : "OK Cashbag" et les chaînes de télévision d'achats à domicile. Les consommateurs ont été plus proches de leurs sous en 2001. L'année passée a vu la multiplication des cartes de fidélité et notamment des cartes à points. De plus en plus nombreuses sont les personnes qui attendent les périodes de soldes. Parmi les produits et services de 2001, figure "OK Cashbag", une carte de fidélité qui rapporte des points de bonus à chaque fois que l'on effectue des achats, que ce soit par carte de crédit ou en espèces. Dans le même temps, les magasins et les sociétés de cartes de crédit ont développé des stratégies afin que leurs clients fassent davantage usage de leurs cartes. SK Corporation, qui possède une société pétrolière et qui fut la première à créer une carte de fidélité pour attirer plus d'automobilistes vers ses stations-service, ainsi que d'autres filiales du groupe SK, dont SK Telecom, ont pu juger de l'efficacité d'avoir une solide base de données clients. Le secteur des achats TV à domicile a connu une rapide expansion en 2001 avec ses cinq chaînes câblées et ses nombreux spots publicitaires. L'augmentation des abonnés au câble et aux services de connexion à l'Internet ont contribué sans l'ombre d'un doute à la bonne santé de ce secteur. Contrairement aux magasins traditionnels, les chaînes TV d'achats à domicile se concentrent sur les produits des petites et moyennes entreprises en renforçant leur compétitivité au niveau des prix grâce à un système de livraison hautement efficace.
3. Choix des amateurs de haute technologie : Combo, les téléviseurs à écran plat et la SM5. Alors que le sort de la plupart des produits dépend des humeurs de la mode, les produits à forte valeur technologique ont toujours bénéficié en Corée d'une attention toute particulière. Combo de Samsung Electronics, lecteur de DVD et de vidéocassettes, a reçu un accueil extraordinaire non seulement sur le marché local mais aussi à l'étranger où la presse et les professionnels ont fait part de critiques très positives. Tout comme Combo, les téléviseurs à écran géant et plat, aussi bien grâce à leur qualité que pour leurs prix compétitifs, ont bénéficié d'une bonne réaction auprès des acheteurs coréens. Après avoir initialement souffert d'un marché en pleine stagnation, la SM5 s'est distinguée dans le secteur de l'automobile. Son succès a été construit par le bouche à oreille dans les taxis. Les chauffeurs de taxi sont réputés pour être très sensibles au confort de conduite et plus en général à la qualité des voitures qu'ils conduisent.
4. Choix des personnes soucieuses de la santé et de la sécurité : Xylitol Gum, le riz de marque et les polices d'assurance-vie. Le nouvel intérêt porté aux produits liés à la santé et à la sécurité a également marqué l'année 2001. Les ventes mensuelles de Xylitol Gum, un chewing-gum qui dit-on lave les dents et qui est commercialisé par Lotte Confectionery, étaient supérieures à 10 milliards de wons, soit 7,6 millions de dollars un record. A titre de comparaison, les ventes mensuelles du célèbre Choco Pie de Tong Yang n'avoisinent que la barre des 5 milliards de wons (soit 3,8 millions de dollars) Les riz de marque ont fait leur apparition. La différenciation est devenue une arme marketing redoutable pour les fabricants de riz. Avec l'ouverture du marché local du riz, les fermiers coréens ont renforcé leur compétitivité en produisant du riz à plus haute valeur ajoutée et de meilleure qualité. Aujourd'hui, près de 70 % du marché coréen est occupé par les riz de marque. Bien que le prix du riz de marque soit nettement plus élevé que celui du riz classique, la demande est en constante augmentation. Ce phénomène peut s'expliquer par la prise de conscience des consommateurs locaux de l'importance d'une bonne nutrition et de la santé en général. Enfin, le fort intérêt pour les polices d'assurance-vie reflète la place croissante que la sécurité occupe dans l'esprit des Coréens. Alors que les taux d'intérêt continuent de chuter, ces derniers étaient également à la recherche de nouveaux programmes d'investissement. Bien souvent, les polices d'assurance proposent de meilleurs retours sur investissements que les comptes d'épargne. Kwon Sung-yong, chercheur au Samsung Economic Research Institute - Source : Le Courrier de la Corée - 2002.01.30
LES TENDANCES ECONOMIQUES QUI MARQUERONT 2002
Alors que, en ce début d'année, des incertitudes planent sur l'économie coréenne, il semblerait utile d'essayer de prévoir les événements et tendances qui pourraient apparaître cette année.
1ère tendance : Poursuite d'une croissance économique faible et montée du chômage.
Bien que les experts prévoient un redressement de l'économie nationale en 2002, le taux de croissance annuel du PIB se situera autour de 4 %, ce qui est inférieur au potentiel de croissance de l'économie coréenne estimé à 5,1 %. Sans aucun doute, la prochaine Coupe du monde de football qui aura lieu en Corée et au Japon accélérera le redressement. Cependant, la possibilité d'un redressement économique en forme de V est à exclure étant donné les incertitudes persistantes aux plans national et international. Pour citer deux exemples, la récession mondiale, qui touche notamment le secteur des technologies de l'information, devrait se poursuivre et la récente dépréciation du yen pourrait avoir un impact négatif sur les exportations coréennes. Non seulement les incertitudes entraîneront un redressement limité, mais elles aggraveront également le chômage chez les jeunes diplômés dans la mesure où les entreprises ont tendance à préférer les personnes expérimentées, et ce en vue de réduire les coûts liés aux programmes de formation.
2ème tendance : Poursuite de la réforme du secteur financier.
Le secteur financier continuera cette année de subir une réforme de grande envergure dans la même ligne que celle qui a été tracée l'année dernière avec des efforts visant à instaurer un système bancaire universel, à réaliser des méga-fusions et à faire adopter les structures de type holding aux grandes institutions financières du pays. L'année 2002 pourrait également voir la création d'une ou deux grandes banques grâce à des opérations de fusion et donc assister à l'achèvement de la réforme du secteur bancaire. Le secteur financier non bancaire, qui inclut les sociétés d'investissement, les sociétés boursières et les sociétés de crédit et qui s'est montré plutôt lent à se réformer, pourrait subir une réorganisation rapide à travers une série de fusions et acquisitions, ouvrant ainsi la voie à l'adoption du système bancaire universel. Les grandes banques commerciales chercheront donc à acquérir des institutions financières non bancaires, maisons de courtage et compagnies d'assurances notamment. Cette tendance sera accélérée par l'introduction en 2003 de " bancassurance ", système qui permettra aux banques et aux sociétés d'assurances d'étendre l'éventail de leurs services financiers.
3ème tendance : Adoption par les sociétés coréennes des "normes et pratiques internationales".
Deux choses sont aujourd'hui sûres. La distinction entre le marché national et les marchés étrangers est de moins en moins nette et la " mondialisation " du marché intérieur devient de plus en plus évidente. Les industries locales tenteront par conséquent d'accélérer leur restructuration, ce qui bien évidemment se traduira par la disparition de nombreuses entreprises. La survie des sociétés qui périclitent passe souvent par la Bourse où les investisseurs étrangers représentent une force significative. En termes d'efficacité managériale, nombreuses sont les firmes coréennes qui se trouvent loin derrière les grandes entreprises étrangères. L'un des objectifs des sociétés coréennes sera donc d'adopter les normes et pratiques internationales. La transparence financière et l'efficacité managériale deviendront deux grandes priorités afin d'instaurer un climat de confiance parmi les clients et les investisseurs et afin de mieux contrer l'avancée des sociétés étrangères sur le marché national. Même si ce phénomène a pu être noté après la crise du change, nous pouvons aisément imaginer que de nouvelles techniques managériales, empruntées de l'étranger, s'étendront aux grandes entreprises du pays.
4ème tendance : Internet et la "convergence numérique"
Grâce à son taux de connexion au haut débit - le plus élevé dans le monde avec 7 millions d'abonnés - et à ses services de téléphonie mobile - 2,8 millions d'utilisateurs -, la Corée pourrait devenir leader mondial dans le domaine des services d'accès à large bande. Si les nouveaux services connaissent le même succès que celui qu'a connu l'Internet rapide, les frontières qui existent entre les appareils, les services et même les industries pourraient disparaître. Cette tendance est appelée par les professionnels "convergence" ou "convergence numérique". De nouveaux produits verront le jour, notamment des produits tout-en-un qui intégreront à la fois un téléphone cellulaire, un assistant numérique personnel et un PC. Les frontières entre les entreprises et les industries disparaîtront à la suite d'alliances stratégiques ou de rapprochements entre les entreprises. Par exemple, pour la construction de réseaux numériques, les fournisseurs d'accès large bande, les fabricants d'appareils et les entreprises de BTP devront coopérer ensemble. De plus, le concept de réseautage tenant une place croissante dans la vie quotidienne des Coréens, les entreprises se focaliseront sur leurs nouveaux besoins. Elles s'efforceront donc de renforcer l'image de leurs produits afin de répondre à ce nouvel environnement imposé par les consommateurs.
5ème tendance : Ralentissement de l'activité agricole
Depuis la clôture du Cycle d'Uruguay en 1994, le marché agricole du pays souffre d'une offre excessive en raison de l'accroissement des importations de produits agricoles. Ce déséquilibre a provoqué une chute des prix et une baisse des revenus chez les agriculteurs coréens. La dette moyenne d'un exploitant agricole est ainsi passée à 20,2 millions de wons à la fin de l'année 2000. L'entrée de la Chine à l'Organisation mondiale du commerce en 2001 et l'ouverture de la Corée au riz étranger, prévue pour 2004, ne feront que détériorer la situation des agriculteurs locaux. Malgré ces prévisions peu réjouissantes, des lueurs d'espoir peuvent être perçues. Des efforts visant à moderniser le secteur agricole pourraient porter leurs fruits avec la mise sur le marché de produits à plus grande valeur ajoutée, de produits de marque et de produits agro-alimentaires génétiquement modifiés. En outre, avec les progrès de la biotechnique et le nouvel intérêt apporté par la population aux voyages à la campagne, de nouvelles opportunités lucratives émergeront.
6ème tendance : Bipolarisation de la société
Depuis la crise du change, le revenu moyen des personnes les plus riches a augmenté sept fois plus rapidement que celui des personnes les plus pauvres, ce qui signifie que les inégalités se sont accrues. De la même manière, seule une poignée de sociétés ont réalisé de larges profits, alors que de nombreuses entreprises, moins grandes et moins fortunées, ont dû mettre la clé sous la porte. Avec l'intensification de la concurrence, la tendance vers la mondialisation et l'importance croissante des nouvelles technologies, l'écart entre les riches et les pauvres s'agrandira. Du fait de la bipolarisation de la société, des efforts provenant de l'ensemble de la société seront déployés afin de résoudre des questions sociales telles que l'inégalité des revenus. Pour aller dans ce sens, le gouvernement pourrait par exemple tenter de créer plus d'emplois et accroître le budget d'aide sociale. Mais, dans un système d'économie de marché, les mesures d'assistance sociale se sont souvent révélées insuffisantes. C'est pourquoi, les tensions sociales issues de la " bipolarisation " resteront un sérieux problème à résoudre.
7ème tendance : Mise en place de la semaine de cinq jours
La semaine de travail de cinq jours envahira progressivement l'ensemble du secteur privé. Certaines grandes entreprises et sociétés étrangères ont déjà adopté le système. Parmi les 100 premières entreprises coréennes, trois ont mis en place définitivement la semaine de cinq jours et 16 autres l'ont adoptée partiellement - les employés ne travaillent qu'un samedi sur deux. Les entreprises coréennes sont de plus en plus nombreuses à appliquer le système de la semaine de cinq jours, ce qui signifierait donc que les Coréens auront plus de temps à consacrer à leur famille et à leurs loisirs. L'industrie des loisirs pourrait donc profiter de ce nouveau système.
8ème tendance : Arrivée de la civilisation des loisirs
Avec la réduction du temps de travail, la famille et les loisirs occuperont une place croissante dans la vie des Coréens. De plus, six nouvelles autoroutes ont été ouvertes à la fin de l'année dernière. Il est désormais possible de traverser le pays en une demie-journée. Le réseau routier coréen n'avait pas connu une telle avancée depuis 1970, année où s'est achevée la construction de l'autoroute Gyeongbu, longue de 428 kilomètres et reliant Séoul à Busan, la deuxième ville du pays.
9ème tendance : Confusion autour des politiques économiques
Avec l'approche de la fin du mandat présidentiel de Kim Dae-jung, l'exercice du pouvoir ne se fera pas sans mal. Le gouvernement actuel sera probablement plus préoccupé par l'élection présidentielle et les élections législatives qui auront lieu cette année que par les questions économiques. Par conséquent, il paraît évident que les entreprises locales se garderont de lancer des projets de grande envergure afin de minimiser les risques. 2002 pourrait donc se révéler comme une année " calme " pour les entreprises.
10ème tendance : Relations Sud-Nord au point mort
En 2002, les relations entre les deux Corées ne devraient pas enregistrer de progrès notable en raison des incertitudes économiques qui règnent au Sud. La coopération intercoréenne pourrait même être mise à l'arrêt, à l'image des croisières vers le mont Geumgang dont le futur reste très incertain. Sur la scène internationale, les prévisions ne sont guère meilleures. Selon les experts, l'administration Bush adoptera une position ferme à l'égard du gouvernement nord-coréen en raison des attaques terroristes de septembre dernier. Pour sa part, le Japon devrait également faire preuve de fermeté face à la menace nordiste, notamment à la suite de l'affaire des fonds liés à l'Association générale des résidents coréens au Japon et la destruction d'un bateau-espion nord-coréen dans les eaux territoriales japonaises. Une amélioration entre la Corée du Nord et le reste du monde paraît par conséquent très improbable. Choi Hee-gap, chercheur au Samsung Economic Research Institute
Source : Le Courrier dela Corée - 2002.01.30
KOREAN PRODUCTS' SHARE SHRINKS IN MAJOR MARKETS
Korean products' market share in the country's three largest export destinations - the United States, China and Japan - is declining steadily, the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) said yesterday.
The trend is worrisome since, though the falling figures are due in part to the worldwide economic slump, a country's market share is directly related to its export products' competitiveness abroad, KITA said.
According to the association, China's imports grew by 8.2 percent to $243.5 billion won last year due to the country's economic prosperity, but imports of Korean goods recorded a slim 0.8 percent growth.
As a result, Korean products' market share in China slipped from 10.3 percent in 2000 to 9.6 percent last year, a decrease of 0.7 percent.
In Japan, too, Korean goods' market share totaled 4.9 percent last year, 0.5 percent lower than the 5.4 percent recorded for 2000.
In the United States, imports from Korea fell sharply by 12 percent between January and November last year, pulling down Korean goods' market share from 3.3 percent in 2000 to 3.1 percent last year.
"Korea suffered more than others from the troubles in the semiconductor and computer markets globally. This contributed largely to the fall in Korean products' market shares," Lee In-ho, an official at KITA, explained.
"Accordingly, Korea should concentrate on developing new export products in order to lessen its dependency on a few key industries," he added.
Agreeing on the need, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) is currently working on developing 100 new export products, including high-tech equipment like robots and new generation automobiles.
(mihui@koreaherald.co.kr)
Source : Korea herald - 14/02/2002
IMF UPGRADES KOREA'S GROWTH FORECAST TO 4%
The International Monetary Fund upgraded its forecast for Korea's economic growth for this year to four percent, revising its earlier projection of 3.2 percent. In an assessment of the performance of the Korean economy last year and its projection for this year, the executive board of the global financial organization said that Korea will have to maintain its various restructuring bids this year, even though the country will be having two major elections, including one for provincial government officials and another for the presidency.
In a meeting of the executive board on Tuesday (Korean time) the IMF pointed out that "Korea has weathered the current global downturn better than many other economies and growth is picking up, while its external position is strong." The global monetary body had projected that the Korean economy would grow 3.2 percent in its World Economic Outlook, published in December last year. The executive board also estimated that the consumer price index (CPI) will rise 2.2 percent this year, slightly higher than the IMF's projection of 2 percent CPI growth, made at the end of last year.
The IMF also estimated that Korea's current account surplus will reach US$6.2 billion this year. It also noted that the corporate sector has still remained plagued by the continued operation of loss-making companies, despite the country's headway in restructuring the business sector. The IMF recommended, however, that non-viable companies should be expelled from the market, stressing also that state-owned banks need to allow badly performing companies to be liquidated if their losses become unmanageable.
Commenting on the government's chaebol policies, the IMF directors agreed that direct regulations imposed on the companies after the financial crisis will need to be removed over time, but they cautioned that this should be done only to the extent that market-based mechanisms insuring sound corporate governance are fully in place. The IMF executive board also encouraged the Korean government to monitor the risk that companies engage in renewed over-expansion without regard to profitability.
(Kim Young-jin, hellojin@chosun.com) - Source : Digital chosun - 13/02/2002
BILATERAL INVESTMENT PACT NEAR
Korea and the United States will likely reach an agreement on a bilateral investment treaty in the first half of this year, solving one of the biggest trade issues between the two countries.
Deputy Trade Minister Choi Hyuck met with his U.S. counterpart, Jon M. Huntsman, deputy U.S. trade representative, in Seoul on Monday to agree to complete the talks for the treaty.
Mr. Huntsman is the highest-ranking U.S. trade official dealing with Washington's trade policy on the Asia-Pacific region.
"We have agreed to conclude the Korea-U.S. investment talks as soon as possible," Mr. Choi said after the meeting.
"The two countries have agreed to hold working-level discussions as soon as Seoul decides on its position regarding key issues such as the screen quota."
He added that Korean ministries would begin discussions on reducing the minimum number of days that local movie theaters are required to play locally produced films, rather than scrapping the screen quota altogether.
Issues other than the investment treaty were also raised during the meeting, officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The United States demanded that Korea lower its tariff on imported cars from the current 8 percent and change the nation's auto-related taxation and standards, which Washington claims are disadvantageous to American vehicles.
Washington also demanded that when Seoul introduces the side crash test in January 2003, it recognize the American method, along with the European one, which is unfavorable to large cars.
The U.S. representative said that the state-run Korea Development Bank's subscription of bonds issued by Hynix Semiconductor Inc. and nationalized banks' debt-restructuring for the ailing chipmaker may violate World Trade Organization agreements that ban state subsidization of private businesses.
Mr. Huntsman also demanded that Seoul ease regulations on identifying genetically modified farm products and lift the 49 percent ceiling on the foreign ownership of major telecommunication firms including Korea Telecom Corp.
Based on the discussions, the two countries will hold working-level talks this week to smooth out the differences. Sources: Digital JoongAng (2001.01.22)
TAX FAVORS EYED FOR FOREIGN LOGISTICS INVESTORS
In a bid to enhance the competitiveness of local logistics and retail industry, the government plans to expand tax reductions and exemptions for foreigners investing more than $30 million in the construction of logistics and retail facilities, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said.
Assistant Minister Lee Seok-young said yesterday that foreign investors spending more than $30 million on building logistics and retail facilities in Korea will be included among the beneficiaries of tax reductions and exemptions.
The government will also help domestic small businesses build joint warehouses in New York, Rotterdam and other global logistics hubs, Lee said, speaking at an industry forum sponsored by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
He said the government is drafting a long-term blueprint meant to help local enterprises cut logistics costs and ease regulations on retail and logistics businesses.
Meanwhile, he forecast that television home shopping, Internet shopping malls and discount stores are expected to grow by 18.7 percent to 24.5 percent this year, leading the growth of the nation's retail industry.
In the discount-store sector, local retailers, including E-Mart and Magnet, plan to set up about 50 new chain stores across the country, in anticipation of an 18.7 percent growth this year. In the home shopping industry, the number of subscribers is expected to grow to an estimated 1.5 million households this year, paving the way for a robust 24.5 percent annual growth.
(cmyoo@koreaherald.co.kr) Source : Korea Herald 2002.01.26
TAX INCENTIVES EYED TO ATTRACT MNC REGIONAL HEADQUARTERS
The government will pursue an export expansion strategy by utilizing international procurement officers (IPOs) at multinational corporations (MNCs), and arrange a system base to attract MNCs' regional headquarters into Korea.
Moreover, equity purchase in an oil field development project in Peru will be continued while the Korea-Japan Joint Continental Shelf Development Zone will be developed. It will also commence a plant construction off the east coast of Korea to develop the nation's first offshore gas field. Commerce-Industry-Energy Minister Chang Che-shik yesterday unveiled his ministry's business plans for this year at the government complex in Kwachon, south of Seoul.
Considering the MNCs' ratio in the annual global trade volume of $7 trillion that has exceeded 50 percent as of 2000, the ministry plans to make good use of IPOs at MNCs in Korea to boost Korea's exports. Chang said that the nation's target is to accomplish $162 billion in exports and achieve a trade surplus of $7 billion this year.To achieve its goal, the ministry will systemize the network between IPOs and the government via foreign company organizations in Korea such as the Korea Foreign Company Associates (KOFA), while organizing "IPO Mart" to provide MNCs with information and global sources to domestic companies together with the Korea International Trade Association.
Chang also said that the government would revise customs clearance and export insurance systems to maximize administrative support and decide whether to include the exports purchase business sector in the category of foreign investment tax exemption or not.
Furthermore, to attract MNCs' regional headquarters to Korea, the government will revise the foreign investment promotion law by the end of next month and dispatch negotiation teams to the world's top 100 MNCs. Currently only one MNC regional headquarter, namely Volvo Korea, a Swedish excavator company, is located in Korea.
The government will also consider arranging incentives for foreign companies such as making exceptions for foreign companies establishing offices, production facilities or research centers in metropolitan areas, providing factory sites for free or at low cost, providing low interest loans and giving tax incentives. To accomplish its goal of attracting foreign direct investment of $15 billion this year, the ministry plans to designate the first week of the World Cup as "In Best Korea Week" and invite 50 top MNC chief executives from around the world to Korea and hold diverse forums and seminars such as a CEO Round Table and the World Cup Seoul Investment Forum.
To encourage the proliferation of free trade agreements (FTAs) worldwide, the government will examine the possibility of forming free trade agreements (FTAs) with East Asian countries, including China, upon the signing of Korea-Japan FTA.
Concerning natural resource development, the ministry plans to develop Tonghae-1 gas field in the sea 60 kilometers southeast of Ulsan which it is forecast will generate some $700 million profit, while revising the Joint Continental Shelf Development Zone development plan with Japan.
The minister said that a government-led consortium is currently in negotiations with an Argentine company that owns an oil field in Peru, to take over 40 percent of the stake. The field is expected to have remaining oil reserves of 83 million barrels. The consortium includes the Korea National Oil Corp., Daewoo and SK.
Chang added that the ministry will continue exerting efforts into developing and industrializing next generation technologies such as information technology, biotechnology and nano technology by injecting 1.74 trillion won worth of the industrial technology budget, while discovering additional world best products and boosting exports this year. Sources: Korea Times (2002.01.22)
OVERSEAS INVESTMENT BY KOREAN FIRMS FALLS 10 PCT IN 2001 - By Park Yoon-bae
Korean firms' direct investment abroad declined last year due to a prolonged global economic slump and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.
The Ministry of Finance and Economy said yesterday that overseas investment by local companies fell by 10.2 percent to $4.38 billion in 2001 from a year earlier on an approval basis.
The number of approved investment projects abroad also dropped by 5.9 percent, to 2,009.
``We believe local companies have cut their investment in foreign countries as their sentiment deteriorated following the worldwide growth downturn, the terrorist acts, and uncertainties over the U.S. and Japanese economy,'' a ministry official said.
Korean corporations invested $833 million in China, or 23.9 percent, up from a year before. The neighboring country edged out the U.S. in attracting Korean investment for the first time.
Korean investment in the U.S. declined by 31.3 percent, to $786 million, on a year-on-year basis, affected by a continued economic slowdown and the terrorist attacks.
``Since China enjoyed strong growth over the last several years, many Korean firms rushed to invest in the country in an attempt to take advantage of the booming economy,'' said the official.
Overseas investment in the European Union posted an increase of more than 13-fold, to $1.85 billion, as LG Electronics invested $1.5 billion in the Netherlands to set up headquarters for a joint venture firm with Philips Electronics.
The Netherlands induced $1.16 billion investment from Korea, sharply up from $23 million in 2000, while Germany attracted $104 million, up from $31 million a year ago.
Domestic firms reduced investment in Japan by 29.4 percent to $84 million in 2001 from $119 million, as the Japanese economy continued to suffer from recession.
However, Korean investment in Indonesia and Vietnam increased by 89.4 percent and 37.7 percent, respectively, to $161 million and $84 million.
Overseas investment in Thailand and Malaysia also went up, to $51 million and $22 million, respectively, from $38 million and $12 million.
The nation's total investment abroad included $3.31 billion for manufacturing sectors, $270 million for service industries and $60 million for telecommunication projects.
Manufacturing investment surged by 109.5 percent year-on-year, while the service sectors and telecommunication projects declined by 87.1 percent and 71.4 percent, respectively.
Individuals as well as small and medium enterprises, made investment in 1,930 overseas projects, accounting for 96.1 percent of the total number.
But the size of their investment stood at $12.9 million, representing only 29.4 percent of the total sum of overseas investment.
The number of investment projects requiring less than $1 million reached 1,749 cases, or 87.1 percent of the total projects. byb@koreatimes.co.kr Source : Korea Times - 5/2/02
FOREIGN INVESTORS TO ACTIVELY EXERCISE RIGHTS AT SHAREHOLDERS' MEETING - By Cho Hyo-young
Looking ahead to their annual meetings with shareholders, some listed companies have voiced concerns over relatively large foreign presence in their equities, as foreigners tend to be very vocal in exercising their rights as stockholders, by making recommendations such as bringing in outside directors.
Market experts have expected that foreigners in their attempt to implement their shareholder rights would cause conflict with local shareholders and worsen market liquidity due to higher dividend stoked by pressure from foreign shareholders.
According to the Korea Stock Exchange (KSE), 22 firms among the total 446 ones closing their accounting books in December had a majority of foreign shareholders rather than a domestic majority stockholder at the end of last year.
Foreign presence in Kookmin Bank came to 71.16 percent, while the government, its local majority shareholder, held a mere 9.64 percent of the giant bank's stocks during the same period.
Over 50 percent of equities of Pohang Iron & Steel, Cheil Communications, Samsung Electronics and Hite Brewery were held by overseas shareholders.
Those whose majority stockholder is a foreigner included Halla Climate Control, S-oil, Handok Pharm., Nexans Korea, and Duckyang Industry.
hycho@koreatimes.co.kr - Source : Korea times - 13/02/2002
40% OF WORLD'S TOP 500 COMPANIES OPERATING IN KOREA
About 40 percent of the world's top 500 companies have branch offices in Korea showing that Korea is increasingly being recognized as an attractive investment market, the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said yesterday.
According to the ministry, 197 of the top 500 international companies (chosen by America's Fortune magazine) invested a total of $14.1 billion in 607 Korean firms, thus making up 18.4 percent of total foreign direct investment ($76.6 billion).
The investment average per company is calculated at $70 million and the average number of firms participating in the investments was 3.1.
By nation, there are 66 American firms operating in Korea, 54 Japanese, 20 Dutch and 15 German.
By investment size, France's Carrefour (37th on Fortune list) is the largest of the top 500 firms in the Korean market with $1.33 billion, followed by Coca-Cola (233rd) with $1.2 billion, Commerz Bank (226th) with $810 million and BASF (111th) with $700 million.
Rounding out the top 10 are Koninklijke Ahold (58th), Wal-Mart Stores (2nd), Costco Wholesale (116th), BT (128th), DaimlerChrysler (5th) and Goldman Sachs (112th).
"A particularly noteworthy point is that all of the world's top 10 biggest companies - Exxon Mobile, Wal-Mart, General Motors, Ford Motor, DaimlerChrysler, Royal Dutch/Shell Group, BP, General Electric, Mitsubishi and Toyota - are in Korea," the ministry said.
By sector, the share of manufacturing and service companies was 51 percent to 49 percent, respectively, with Japanese firms mainly in manufacturing and American in service, it said.
The report further showed that investment by American and European Union countries picked up noticeably after the 1997 financial crisis, while Japan has invested steadily since the 1960s.
"Our study also reveals that 81 percent of all investments from the top 500 companies, which total $11.4 billion, were made after 1990," the ministry said.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed that 159 of the world's top 500 companies have offices in China, a country regarded as the biggest competitor to Korea in terms of foreign direct investment from this point on.
According to the Chinese trade office in Beijing last week, of the 159 firms, 19 have built Chinese branches that are bigger than the firms' headquarters.
Further proving that China is rising as a major foreign investment market, the Chinese news report said that the total number of branch offices of international companies in the country reached 10,380 as of the end of last year.
Of these, 816 were established last year.
"Last year, Beijing gave operation permits to 1,147 companies that have foreign capital in them. The total investment amount is $10 million and this is a 28.6 percent increase from 2000," Yonhap News Agency said. - Sources: Korea Herald (2002.01.30)
LA COREE EST-ELLE PRETE POUR L'EURO ?
L'euro est devenu une monnaie à part entière. Pour l'instant, elle peut sembler un peu loin de nous. Cependant, la monnaie unique aura, à n'en pas douter, un impact considérable sur l'économie coréenne.
La Corée veillera à l'impact de l'euro sur l'évolution des prix des biens et services
Les touristes coréens visitant les pays de la zone euro n'auront désormais plus à se préoccuper de devises multiples. Le passage à l'euro aura donc pour effet de faciliter les voyages. Par ailleurs, les banques mettent à la disposition de leurs clients des chèques de voyage libellés en euros.
Les entreprises coréennes exportant ou exerçant leurs activités en Europe devront en particulier tenir compte de l'impact de l'euro sur l'évolution des prix des biens et des services. Pour les consommateurs européens, il est désormais beaucoup plus facile de comparer les prix des produits à l'échelle du continent. Pour cela, bien évidemment, l'Internet peut être d'un grand secours. Ainsi, par exemple, si un certain modèle de lecteur DVD fabriqué en Corée est moins cher en Espagne qu'en Allemagne, les consommateurs peuvent s'en rendre compte plus rapidement que s'ils devaient comparer les prix fixés en deutsche marks et en pesetas. Les contrats de commerce international et d'investissement sont la plupart du temps conclus sur la base du dollar américain. Il est probable qu'un nombre croissant de firmes étrangères seront disposées à passer des contrats déterminés en euros. S'il est clair que cette tendance commencera à se manifester tout d'abord à l'intérieur de la zone euro, elle devrait bientôt gagner les entreprises basées à l'extérieur de l'UEM. Dans le même sens, nous pouvons raisonnablement tabler sur une expansion des émissions d'obligations libellées en euros de la part des entreprises et du secteur public. Les banques et les sociétés coréennes appelées à traiter avec les touristes européens se doivent de tout mettre en œuvre pour gérer au mieux le passage à la monnaie unique. Cela s'avérera d'autant plus capital au moment de la Coupe du monde, dans la mesure où une bonne partie des visiteurs seront originaires de la zone euro.
Gare à la contrefaçon ! surtout pour le billet de 500 euros
Par ailleurs, la contrefaçon demeure un risque majeur, en dépit du nombre impressionnant de signes infalsifiables ajoutés aux billets de banque et aux pièces en euros. De même, l'utilisation de l'euro dans le cadre de trafics de drogue et d'opérations de blanchiment d'argent reste une possibilité à ne pas exclure. Pour ce genre d'activités illicites, il est certain que les billets de grande valeur seront particulièrement prisés par certaines organisations criminelles, et notamment le billet de 500 euros. Celui-ci revient approximativement à 577 000 wons coréens, ce qui équivaut à plus de 50 fois le montant du plus gros billet émis en Corée, qui n'est que de 10 000 wons. De même, si l'on établit une comparaison avec les deux autres devises internationales majeures que sont le dollar américain et le yen japonais, le billet de 500 euros atteint une valeur beaucoup plus élevée que celle du billet de 10 000 yens et de 100 dollars. L'Union européenne se prépare à élargir son cadre institutionnel vers l'Est et vers le Sud, en intégrant de nouveaux membres issus de l'Europe orientale et du pourtour méditerranéen. Il faut s'attendre à ce que quelques-uns de ces nouveaux Etats membres choisissent d'adhérer à leur tour à l'UEM. Cette extension probable de la zone euro permettra certainement à la monnaie européenne d'assumer un rôle encore plus prépondérant à l'avenir. A long terme, il est possible que l'euro soit en mesure de contester la suprématie du billet vert sur les marchés mondiaux. Toutefois, il est important de prendre conscience que même dans une perspective à court terme, l'euro est destiné à jouer un rôle crucial pour de nombreux acteurs, particuliers ou entreprises, surtout dans le cadre d'une économie largement basée sur la croissance des exportations telle que celle de la Corée du Sud. Damien P. Horigan Source : Le Courrier de la Corée - 2002.01.30
KOREAN GOV'T TO COMMERCIALIZE ENUM TECHNOLOGY IN 2003
The Korean government plans to commercialize a technology that can replace existing Internet domain addresses with telephone numbers as early as next year, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) said yesterday.
The project, known as eNUM (tElephone NUmber Mapping), is to promote the development of core technologies as part of efforts to catch up with the global trend of telecom and Web infrastructure convergence.
MIC hosted a meeting for telecom service providers as well as researchers and government agencies in the info-tech sector last Friday, and agreed to start developing systems and services.
The ministry said it will extend financial support to the eNUM project and set aside a special budget, if necessary. A joint body composed of telecom concerns, agencies and research labs will be launched in February. Testing-level services are expected to hit the market by the end of this year, ministry officials said.
Depending on the testing-level service, mobile carriers and Internet companies may commercialize the eNUM service fully, MIC said.
If the telephone number system is closely connected with the Web domain structure, users can access recipients' contact information including their e-mail address by just typing in the phone number in the Internet address section of a Web browser.
In other words, users could secure Internet communications tools easily as long as they remember the telephone numbers.
The standards for the integration of telecom and Web address systems are yet to be worked out. Ministry officials said the current 11-digit international call number system is likely to become a mainstream standard.
Ministry officials said eNUM projects are led by governments worldwide, as the Internet domain system has as much public impact as the telephone number structure.
Supportive of the theory that the government should protect and regulate telephone numbers as part of the country's telecom resources, MIC said it is working with state-run agencies such as KRNIC (Korea Network Information Center) and ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute).
MIC hopes that the state-run KT Corp., which virtually controls fixed-line telecom services in Korea, top mobile carrier SK Telecom and other telecom concerns will join the eNUM project to take a share in the next-generation communication address system.
KT has set up a working group for eNUM technology and is now weighing various business models. SK Telecom has recently formed a research team to follow the trend.
In the United States, the State Department is known to be pursuing the eNUM project in partnership with AT&T, Cisco and other major telecom companies. A testing-level service is scheduled to debut in May, though expectations about the new technology are still low at this stage. Analysts said it will take some time before governments and telecom firms figure out ways to make money out of the technology, which remains experimental. Sources: Korea Herald (2002.01.29)
KOREAN PROTOCOL TECHNOLOGY ADOPED AS INT'L STANDARD - By Kim Sung-jin
Domestic Internet broadcasting transmission technology has been adopted as the International standard.
The Technology and Standards Agency under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE) said yesterday that Enhanced Communication Transport Protocol (ECTP), a multicast protocol for Internet broadcasting developed by local engineers, was selected as the International standard through a ballot by the International Standardization Organization (ISO) member countries on Jan. 15.
Multicast protocol refers to an Internet protocol that enables each Internet service provider to send data simultaneously to subscribers through diverse Internet channels and filter unwanted large-sized data such as VOD (video on demand) and Internet broadcasting by users, thus ensuring that subscribers receive only requested data through diverse Internet channels.
The ECTP was developed and proposed to the ISO as an international standard by a research team under the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) led by doctor Kang Shin-kak in December 1997.
The ETRI's multicast protocol was approved as an international standard prior to the Reliable Multicast Transport (RMT), a multicast protocol developed by the international Internet technology standard researching group IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force).
The ministry said that the ECTP has minimized defects presented by the unicast Internet broadcasting transmission method, currently widely used worldwide, such as poor video quality and halting of video images. Unicast protocol only enables transmission of data between service providers and subscribers through a single Internet channel, so if many users access the subscribers line simultaneously, the channel gets overloaded therefore slowing down the speed of the Internet.
``The adoption of ECTP technology is to generate over $5 billion worth of export effect annually from 2004. Currently there are five ECTP related technologies that have been proposed to the ISO as international standard beside ECTP,'' said a MOCIE official.
Experts say, with Internet broadcasting and other interactive communications booming, multicast protocol has became an essential function in the future Internet environment, for it significantly reduces the traffic flow into backbone communication networks, easing the burden on the high-speed Internet service providers, and speeding up transmission. sjkim@koreatimes.co.kr Source : Korea Times - 21/01/2002
INCHEON AIRPORT SEEKS INVESTORS FOR HOTELS
Incheon International Airport Corp. is looking for private investors to build more hotels on a site south of the passenger terminal, airport officials said yesterday.
The airport is seeking for an investment of about 180 billion won ($136 million) for a hotel with 500 rooms, and about 10 to 50 billion won ($7.5 million to $38 million) for a smaller hotel with 100 to 300 rooms, the officials said.
The airport plans to build three hotels altogether, including one being constructed by Korean Air. It also plans to build one commercial building and five office buildings at its international business center that sits on 165,000 sq. meters of land 2002.01.25
MULTINATIONAL PHARMA COMPANIES INTENSIFY MARKETING EFFORTS IN KOREA
On Nov. 24th last year a combination of Latin dance and the smash hit non-verbal musical Nanta electrified an audience at the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel in Seoul. Fascinated by the gyrations of samba, salsa and rumba dancers amid dazzling colored lights, the audience broke out into wave after wave of applause. Judging by the audience's response measured by the volume of cheers and applause, the performance of Nanta brought their appreciation to a climax.
This extravaganza was organized by Roche Korea, the local branch of the Swiss-based multinational pharmaceutical giant to introduce Tamiflu, the world's first influenza remedy that the company had recently developed. The 400-strong audience, meanwhile, was composed of physicians, suppliers of medical products and members of august medical institutions including the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases.
Pharmaceutical product launches had hitherto been stogy affairs and took the form of seminars, the drug companies taking their cues from the strongly conservative Korean medical circle. That mold was broken, however, when the curtain went up on Roche Korea's show at the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt. A company insider said of the event: "Up until now, we had to keep our marketing activities low key in order not to irritate our Korean competitors, but from now on we will intensify our efforts."
Since the separation of pharmaceutical dispensing from medical practices in Korea, prescription of "original" (copyright) drugs has dramatically increased, providing a brilliant opportunity for multinational drug companies to increase their revenues. Greatly encouraged by the trend, these companies have abandoned their usual conservative way of doing business for a more aggressive approach to the Korean market.
Making Contact with Users
In the wake of their dramatic increase in sales in the Korean market, the multinationals have increased their marketing staffs and introduced the "customer-contact" technique in their marketing efforts.
The two-pronged approach by Abbott Korea to market its new obesity remedy, Reductil, is a case in point. Following a laser and fusion jazz show staged last September at the Shilla Hotel for an audience of potential prescribers in the form of some 550 physicians, the company opened a Web site (www.reductil.co.kr) for obesity sufferers in last December. Abbott Korea also launched Reductil Club, a support group for obesity sufferers and potential users of the drug. "People's response has been great although it is a new site," an Abbott Korea executive said. "On average the web site attracts 30 to 50 hits per day."
Handok-Aventis, a supplier of the Nicodum nicotine patch, plans to capitalize on the current anti-smoking trend by organizing an art performance to attract those who want to stop smoking.
At the same time the multinationals are beefing up their marketing capability. BMS Korea, for example, has recently placed a marketing expert in a top managerial position. Pfizer Korea, too, successfully scouted for an outside marketing expert to place in the top managerial post of the company's PR department. For MSD Korea, marketing has been given a great deal of weight by the promotion of the head manager of its PR team to the position of director.
Multinational Pharma Revenues Hit the Heights
While the Korean drug market has risen steadily from 5.2 trillion won in 2000 to 5.5 trillion won last year, this year's volume is expected to reach 5.7 trillion won, the sales by multinational drug companies within this total have soared almost vertically.
Pfizer Korea's revenue from its high blood pressure treatment, Norvasc, for example, reached over 100 billion won, alone.
The company said that its total revenues last year soared to 170 billion won from 120 billion won in 2000, "Thanks to the brilliant performance of the company's core products such as Viagra, its erectile dysfunction treatment, and Lititor, a remedy for hyperlipemia.
MSD Korea, the local subsidiary of the American drug company, experienced a revenue increase of 42 billion won from 68 billion won in 2000 to 110 billion won last year. Over the same period, BMS Korea increased its sales by 20 billion won to 65 billion won thanks to the introduction of its Taxol anti-cancer drug,
Other multinational drug companies such as Roche Korea, GSK Korea, Sanofi-Synthelabo also enjoyed dramatic sales increases of between 60 percent and 95 percent. The average sales increase of 17 foreign drug companies operating in Korea was 40 percent.
Sales Performance and Target of Multinational Drug Companies in Korea (unit: 100 million won)
Company Name 2000 2001 2002 Pfizer Korea 1,200 1,700 2,400 GSK Korea 847 1,443 1,883 Janssen Korea 1,100 1,200 1,300 Roche Korea 598 1,167 1,200 MSD Korea 680 1,100 1,500 Lilly Korea 640 850 1,100 Novartis 610 780 910 BMS Korea 450 650 1,000 Pharmacia 535 639 898 Schering 490 610 690 Astra Zeneca 415 600 850 Boelinger Ingelheim 481 564 650 Sanofi Synthelabo 300 500 700 Bayer Korea 382 465 500 Wyeth Korea 280 373 520 Otsuka Korea 224 270 316 Abbott Korea 103 134 205Source : Jung Ang Ilbo - Feb. 4, 2002
HYUNDAI LANCE SON PETIT MONOSPACE EN EUROPE
Le monospace de petit gabarit a la cote, on le sait, et tous les constructeurs s'efforcent d'avoir aujourd'hui dans leurs productions des modèles qui répondent à cette mode. En ce début d'année, c'est la firme coréenne Hyundai qui va distribuer un véhicule de ce genre en Europe sous le nom de Matrix.
En Corée du Sud, on l'appelle le Lavita. La mise au point de cette voiture compacte et haute de plafond a été assurée en collaboration avec le bureau d'études de la firme installé à Francfort. C'est dire combien la Matrix se veut, avant tout, européenne.
Sa silhouette a bénéficié d'un coup de crayon inspiré de Pininfarina, de nombreux rangements sont prévus à bord, et les équipements (climatisation, coffre modulable par glissement du siège arrière, par ailleurs repliable, levier de vitesse solidaire du tableau de bord) ne manquent pas. Des coussins gonflables placés de face et latéralement (à l'avant) et les barres de renfort pour les chocs de côté rassureront ceux qui doutent des qualités sécuritaires des modèles coréens, tout comme le système antiblocage (ABS) des roues avec répartiteur électronique de freinage (EBD). La conduite est à peine troublée par une tendance au roulis lorsque le véhicule est très chargé et en virage.
Deux moteurs seront proposés en France par Hyundai : un 1 l (essence) à seize soupapes et un diesel de 1,5 l à trois cylindres et injection directe haute pression. Ce dernier, qui animera la version-phare de la nouvelle venue, a bénéficié dans son développement des lumières de Detroit Motors, consultant américain au service de DaimlerChrysler.
Au fond, la Matrix n'a qu'un défaut : le bruit de son moteur qunad il tourne à haut régime. En revanche, son couple maximal de 184 newtons/mètre, qui reste constant entre 1 900 et 2 600 tours/minute, permet d'avaler les pentes prononcées, qui réclament souvent des efforts très soutenus de la part des mécaniques fonctionnant au gazole. Les consommations sont au diapason, et le réservoir permet, tous usages confondus, une autonomie de 750 km environ.
En conclusion de ce tableau, il est bon de savoir que les tarifs fixés par la marque (à partir de 14 990 euros pour le modèle à essence et 15 990 euros pour le diesel) placent la Matrix en bonne position sur le marché français. Selon le constructeur, 2 000 exemplaires devraient y trouver preneurs en 2002. Dans l'Hexagone, la marque a réalisé l'an passé 14 343 immatriculations. Claude Lamotte Source : Le Monde | 26.01.02 | 10h08
LE BENENFICE NET DE KIA A PROGRESSE DE 67% EN 2001 Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : Les Echos 19/02/02
AUTOMAKERS FLOODED WITH DOMESTIC ORDERS
Domestic demand for automobiles is rising rapidly, reflecting mounting expectations for an imminent economic recovery and the positive effects of the special-consumption tax cuts, automakers said.
Due to the rush of orders from local consumers, the waiting period for the delivery of some hot models, like Ssangyong Motor's sport utility vehicles Rexton and Musso, has been lengthened to three months, they said.
Aspiring buyers of Hyundai Motor's sport utility vehicle Santa Fe are also asked to wait more than two months for delivery, while the waiting period for a Hyundai midsize sedan EF Sonata and Kia Motors' minivan series, such as Carnival and Carens, has been extended to one month.
Renault Samsung Motors also reported that the waiting period for its sole SM5 model increased from one week in December to three weeks lately, while delivery of Daewoo Motor's minicar Matiz and minivan Rezzo is being delayed by over two weeks.
"The robust car sales at home illustrate the rising public confidence over business recovery," said an official at the Korea Automobile Manufacturing Association.
Hyundai Motor, citing a rapid falloff in its inventories in the wake of last month's labor strike, said that it is now saddled with a backlog of 150,000 orders, including 60,000 orders at home.
As a result, the waiting period for a Santa Fe increased to over two months, with that for a Dynasty, Equus or Grandeur XG standing at two months. In order to cope with the soaring demand, Hyundai recently increased the per-hour output of EF Sonata from 57 units to 63 units.
Kia also reported a backlog of 3,000 orders for Carnival and Carens minivans, while Daewoo's backlogged orders for Matiz and Rezzo rose to 5,000 units. Notably, Ssangyong is said to have a backlog of 5,300 orders for Musso and 3,500 orders for Rexton.
SK Securities said in a report that the outlook for automobiles and a number of other industries, including semiconductors, electronics parts, home appliances, telecom service, retail, hotel and paper is bright this year. "The brisk domestic auto sales will help the industry-wide annual volume by 4.7 percent this year," SK report said.
Hyundai Motor, the top automaker in Korea, plans to increase its domestic sales 5.1 percent to 743,000 units, with the export target set at 1 million units, up 12.1 percent from last year.
Kia Motors plans to sell 1.09 million vehicles, including 440,000 at home, while Daewoo has set this year's sales target at 610,000 cars, including 220,000 at home. Ssanyong Motor aims to sell 130,000 cars at home, up 16.1 percent from last year.
On the other hand, Samsung Securities said that the lack of new competitive models in overseas markets and Kia's expanding operations in SUVs might cloud the prospects for Hyundai's exports this year. Sources: Korea Herald (2002.01.30)
DEFENSE MINISTER HINTS AT PREFERENCE FOR F-15 - By Sohn Suk-joo
Defense Minister Kim Dong-shin yesterday hinted that Seoul would choose Boeing Co.'s F-15K in its multi-billion dollar fighter project. In a meeting with defense correspondents, Kim said, ``The F-X project will go ahead as scheduled, and not only prices but also the long-standing alliance with the U.S. will be a critical factor in our decision.''
Kim's favorable remarks about the U.S. model came amid reports that U.S.President Bush will make a pitch for F-15K fighters when he comes to Seoul for a summit with President Kim Dae-jung later this month.
``Seoul may use the F-X decision as a leverage to entice Bush to make a blanket endorsement of President Kim's ``sunshine'' policy during his visit to Seoul,'' a defense source said, asking to remain anonymous.
Bush has toughened his stance toward North Korea by ratcheting up his harsh rhetoric against the communist country, making Seoul officials confused about how to coordinate its cherished North Korea policy with the U.S.
Foreign bidders yesterday failed to meet target prices set by the ministry in the final round of price negotiations, the third of its kind this year.
Analysts were quick to point out that the ministry should obtain approval of more budget from the National Assembly or choose to leave out less important options for fighters to reduce the cost if it plans to go ahead with the project.
To push ahead with the much-delayed fighter project, Seoul will have to increase the budget by $600 million to $800 million, according to them.
``The ministry will announce whether to push ahead with the project by Friday,'' said Chae Woo-seok, deputy commander of the Defense Procurement Agency affiliated with the ministry.
Last month, the ministry said that it would consider scrapping, down- scaling or delaying the project by one or two years if the bidders' offer prices fail to zero in on the target prices.
The defense minister will report the results of price negotiations to President Kim Dae-jung on Thursday and is expected to give the green light to the promotion of the F-X project.
Competing for the lucrative project are Boeing's F-15K, the Rafale of France's Dassault, Typhoon of a European consortium's Eurofighter International and Russia's Sukhoi-35. Source : Korea Times - 4/2/2
TWO MAJOR ARMS PROCUREMENT PROJECTS DELAYED
The Defense Ministry has decided to delay big-ticket procurement projects for an airborne surveillance system and attack helicopters due to budget constraints, officials said yesterday.
But the ministry will select a supplier for electronic warfare system that will arm the Navy's 7,000-ton Aegis-class destroyer by the end of May as scheduled, the officials said. The ministry originally planned to select the model for the Air Force's 1.8 trillion-won airborne surveillance project, code-named "AWACS," in the first half of this year.
"We will begin work on the project in 2005 due to the shortage of budget, partly caused by the devaluation of the (Korean) currency," Maj. Gen. Kim Jong-cheon, director general of the acquisition policy at the ministry, said.
He said the ministry aims to introduce the air warning system by 2011. The ministry received bids for the project from three foreign firms, including the United States' Boeing Co, last year. He also said the ministry also decided to delay the 2.1 trillion-won attack helicopter project, code-named "AH-X," indefinitely.
Negotiations to buy the aircraft were originally scheduled to begin last October.
Kim said the ministry will reschedule the project after reviewing the result of its separate project to develop Korea's own multi-purpose helicopter.
Military experts said the projects were delayed because of the ministries' decision to earmark more of the budget for the "F-X project," which aims at purchasing 40 next- generation fighters for the Air Force. Others cite the negative effect the major arms projects will have on inter-Korean ties.
But the ministry said it will finalize selection of a supplier of the Aegis-class destroyer by the end of May through an open bidding. Lockheed Martin of the United States, Thales of the Netherlands and BAE of Britain are bidding to supply the Aegis combat system that will arm the Navy's next-generation destroyer. The project is code-named KDX-III.
The 7,000-ton class warship will be built as early as 2008 at a cost of about 1.2 trillion won ($923 million), the official said. Originally, Lockheed Martin was the exclusive bidder for the project. Criticized for favoring the U.S. firm, the ministry switched to an open bidding, which eventually drew in the other two competitors.
In announcing its midterm defense plan (2003-07), the ministry said it plans to spend 98.6 trillion won in combined defense expenditures over the next five years, including 36.3 trillion won on defense buildup projects. (jjhwang@koreaherald.co.kr By Hwang Jang-jin Staff reporter Source : Korea herald - 2002.02.15
LE COREEN AMITO INSTALLE SON SIEGE EUROPEEN A VALENCIENNES
Spécialisé dans la production de programmes d'animation en 3D et en temps réel pour les nouveaux media, notamment les téléphones UMTS, le coréen Amito, implanté depuis septembre aux ateliers numériques de Valenciennes, a décidé d'en faire un site de production et le siège européen de sa recherche-développement. Cette société également présente en Chine, commercialement en Allemagne, en Italie, en Australie, au Maroc et aux Etats-Unis, prévoit d'embaucher 14 personnes sur 3 ans à Valenciennes et table sur un chiffre d'affaires de 2 à 3 millions d'euros en 2003. L'arrivée de cette société donne une dimension internationale au pôle numérique de Valenciennes. Source : Les Echos - 6/2/02
CHAEBOL R&D SPENDING GROWING FASTER THAN FACILITIES INVESTMENT
Chaebols are increasingly placing their focus on research and development (R&D). This is because R&D isn't just about a company's growth any more, but is directly linked to a company's survival as the digital convergence phenomenon rapidly accelerates. With the possibility of Korean products such as Samsung Electronics' mobile handset and LG Electronics' PDP (plasma display panel) TV becoming top global brands, Korean companies have realized that their future lies in R&D.
Although they have frozen their investment budgets this year at last year's level, or even reduced them, conglomerates such as Samsung, LG, SK and Hyundai are boldly boosting their R&D investment fraction over total investment this year. LG Electronics' R&D investment exceeded its facility investment for the first time this year, and the proportion between R&D and facility investments at Samsung Electronics also arrived at a similar level as well.
Considering domestic conglomerates' customary management style, where in the past they mostly slashed their investment first when the business environment became difficult, it is remarkably noteworthy. LG group plans to extend its R&D investment this year to 1.9 trillion won, up 12 percent from the 1.7 trillion won of last year, while paring down its facility investment to 3.5 trillion won, down 26 percent from the 4.7 trillion won of last year. LG Electronics has cut its facility investment budget by 29.2 percent to 620 billion won, from last year's 876 billion. But it has lifted its R&D investment to 830 billion won, up 11.4 percent from 745 billion won last year.
With increased R&D, the electronics giant plans to step into developing next generation information communication equipments, digital TV and core electronic parts, while centering its efforts on securing more talented R&D workers, of which it currently employs some 7,300. Samsung group has set its R&D investment budget for this year at four trillion won, up 33.3 percent from last year. This is over 40 percent of its nine trillion won total investment budget. Samsung Electronics alone has allocated 8 percent of its this year's some 40 trillion won expected sales to its R&D investment budget, up 0.5 percentage points from 7.5 percent of last year. As it plans to cut down its facility investment to three trillion won from 4.2 trillion won of last year, the two investments will reach similar levels this year.
"To secure cost competitiveness in our core products such as semiconductors and TFT-LCDs, and to establish a worldwide global research and development system, we have boosted our R&D investment budget despite our reduction in total investment budget," said a Samsung Electronics official. Samsung Electro-mechanics has also pulled up its R&D investment ratio in expected sales to 6 percent from 5.8 percent last year, while sustaining its facility investment at 230 billion won, the same level as last year. It is reported that most of Samsung's affiliates plan to raise their R&D investment budget this year. Hyundai and Kia Motors, while trimming down its this year's total investment by 1.9 percent to 2.11 trillion won, will increase its R&D investment by 14.1 percent to 1.46 trillion won. SK group has also boosted its R&D investment by 100 billion won to 500 billion won. The SK Corp., the general trading arm of the chaebol, has slashed its facility investment to 160 billion won, from the 200 billion last year. But it decided to maintain its R&D investment at 50 billion won, the same level as last year.Source : Korea Times (2002.01.31)
KOO IN-HWOI & KOO CHA-KYUNG STUDY(5) DIVERSIFYING LG INTO WORLD-CLASS ENTERPRISE - By Prof. Kim Sung-soo - Kyung Hee University
Like many other successful entrepreneurs, honorary LG chairman Koo Cha- kyung knew by instinct that the recession in the middle of the 1970s would continue into the foreseeable future.
Koo proceeded to chart his investment strategy toward the 1980s, spending aggressively on setting up manufacturing complexes in Ulsan, Kumi, Changwon, Yochon and Osan.
In particular, Koo pioneered the operation of the first integrated central research center of Goldstar, turning it into a cradle for the development of color television sets, video cassette recorders, personal computers and semiconductors.
By developing advanced electronics, Koo not only made it possible for Goldstar to emerge as a giant corporation but contributed significantly to the fostering of the nation's electronics industry.
Thus, research and development, along with the installation of an efficient financial system, became the central focus of LG's corporate existence since the middle of the 1970s.
At the same time, Koo increasingly looked to foreign markets for business prosperity and Bando Trading, which has since been transformed into LG International Corp., won the Tower of Industrial Merit for $100 million in exports in 1976 through the operation of 21 overseas branches.
On the manufacturing side, the Ulsan plant specialized in the production of daily necessities and plastic processing while the Yochon complex concentrated on paste resin and other synthetic materials.
With Goldstar consistently being recognized for fostering the precision technology industry, Goldstar Precision Industry forged a technological partnership with Hitachi of Japan.
With these endeavors and calculated diversification, LG emerged as an integrated conglomerate with 23 subsidiaries in six main business sectors _ chemicals and energy, electric and electronics, machinery and metals, trading, finance and services _ with 53,000 employees at the end of 1979, 10 years after the junior Koo became LG chairman.
The corporate turnover which stood at 52 billion won in 1970 increased over 800 billion won among 15 subsidiaries in 1977, ranking it 146th on the Fortune 500 list (except American companies).
The total revenues surpassed the 1 trillion won mark in 1978 when it ranked 110th on Fortune 500 and they nearly doubled to 1.8 trillion won in the following year.
Over the span of a decade after the passing of LG founder Koo In-hwoi, LG's turnover increased at an annual rate of 48.8 percent with exports also rising by 45.6 percent to $911 million in 1979 when its assets were tallied at 1,354 billion won.
With the onset of the 1980s, when Koo turned 55, the teacher-turned-tycoon braced for an era of globalization and the spreading of state-of-the-art technologies.
Koo set his priorities on fostering the petrochemical, industrial material and energy businesses and reorienting the electric and electronic sectors while expanding trade, finance and service ventures.
In petrochemicals, Koo directed the completion of numerous new production facilities, launching the commercial operation of Korea's largest industrial complex in the field in Chongju while increasing investments overseas to establish LG as a multinational corporation.
The completion of these new facilities through the latter part of the 1980s was accompanied by LG's entry into the LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) business as well as the localization of silicon wafer processing.
Over at Goldstar, activities were no less brisk. Koo spearheaded the restructuring of the diversified operation of the electronic giant, integrating the Changwon operation and closing down unproductive vendor companies.
The restructuring led to the specialization of Goldstar's production facilities as well as the completion of the nation's largest plant for producing washing machines in Kumi.
Along with the brisk transformations at Goldstar, Koo had the vision to invest 1.6 trillion won for the construction of a semiconductor processing plant in Chongju to expand global market share.
Goldstar Semiconductor, which later became LG Semicon before merging with Hyundai Electronics Industries (currently called Hynix Semiconductor), also had an expanded presence in personal computers and switching systems.
In addition to securing the technology for microprocessors and VLSIs (very large-scale integrated circuits), the company also actively pursued the development of the Starex switching systems.
Koo's ambitions for diversification would stop here. He took over the Kunpo plant of Korea Heavy Industries and Construction (now Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction) and delved into heavy industries in 1983.
In the following year, Koo established Goldstar Optical Communications in partnership with AT&T while setting up a manufacturing facility in Kwangju for Goldstar Alps Electronics in Kwangju to exert greater presence in the electronic components market.
Meanwhile, Goldstar Industrial Systems moved into the production of elevators and this helped create the momentum for developing industrial robot, signaling LG's far-reaching presence in factory automation.
In finance, Koo engineered the acquisition of a number of financial institutions, including Pusan Investment Trust and this opened the door for participating in the establishment of a new bank (Boram Bank in 1991 which has since merged with the Hana Bank).
At the same time, the merger of Lucky Securities and Daebo Securities, and the launching of Lucky Investment Consulting and the Lucky-Goldstar Economic Research Institute created a viable financial force within the conglomerate.
On the services side of business, Koo oversaw LG's entry into distribution in 1980 and the advertising sector in 1984. In that year, LG also introduced the concept of integrated and computerized management. And if there is a final note on Koo's achievements in the breathtaking days of the 1980s was the completion of the Twin Tower on Yoido in 1988 which was indicative of the commitment he had toward providing a sound working environment for employees.
Within these offices, Koo would develop a new vision for the 21st century and put in motion strategic projects which would ensure LG's solid position in the domestic and global corporate world.
Deputy Business Editor Nho Joon-hun translated this portion of the series._ ED. jakenho@koreatimes.co.kr Source : Korea Times - 13/02/2002
LG GROUP CONSIDERS TAKING OVER POWERCOMM
LG Group, one of the country's largest conglomerates, is considering taking over Powercomm, a unit of state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. (KEPCO), amid rumors about the possible collapse of the latest bidding slated for Feb. 21.
KEPCO earlier said that it would invite bids Feb. 21 for a 30 percent stake in Powercomm as part of efforts to privatize its subsidiary. KEPCO will select the priority negotiating partner by the end of February before concluding negotiations for the sale of Powercomm stocks by the end of March.
But telecom and broadband industry sources said the outlook for the bidding process remains cloudy, particularly after Hanaro Telecom Inc. and Thrunet recently suspended their alliance talks.
As the Powercomm stake sale takes a new turn due to the friction between Hanaro and Thrunet, LG Group is reportedly interested in the take-over of Powercomm in connection with the network operator's business relations with LG Telecom.
LG Telecom, a wireless unit of LG Group, is the largest client for Powercomm.
Major broadband carriers and foreign companies are paying keen interest in the stake in Powercomm as its nationwide broadband network infrastructure is deemed potentially lucrative for operators in Korea where the high-speed Internet is pervasive.
Hanaro and Thrunet are jointly bidding for the Powercomm stake while the Korean government is keen on encouraging the two broadband carriers to merge with one another to form a powerful market position along with Powercomm to balance the market, which is dominated by KT Corp. and SK Telecom.
Among other participants in the bidding for the Powercomm stake are New Bridge Capital and Canadian pension fund CDP. KEPCO expects the price of the Powercomm shares to be set at slightly lower than 32,200 won ($24.5), the price at the sale of Powercomm equities in July 2000.
But the alliance talks between Hanaro and Thrunet are confronting a major challenge, darkening the prospect for their purchase of a Powercomm stake, while KEPCO's estimated price is known to be too steep for other bidders.
Unless KEPCO makes further concessions in prices, the forthcoming round of bids is feared to collapse, a major setback for the state-run utility's push to privatize its network infrastructure unit.
LG Group's move is interpreted as a sign that the conglomerate intends to help LG Telecom strengthen its market position in the fiercely competitive wireless market in Korea. LG Telecom is currently lagging behind top mobile carrier SK Telecom and No.2 player KTF. Back in 2000, LG Group had considered taking over Powercomm to help its wireless unit compete with other players, particularly after KTF acquired KT M.com (formerly Hansol M.com).
Industry sources said LG hopes to cut costs by acquiring Powercomm in connection with LG Telecom's network leasing fees paid to Powercomm.
Dacom, a fixed-line carrier unit of LG Group, is likely to play a key role in taking over Powercomm if the take-over bid goes forward, observers said.
People familiar with the matter said LG Group is seeking foreign investment in order to secure funds needed to take over Powercomm.
The close relations between Dacom and Powercomm are also fueling speculation about the possible tie-up under the guidance of LG Group's top executives.
In December last year, Dacom forged a business alliance deal with Powercomm for Dacom's Metro-Ethernet service. Metro-Ethernet is a new service that Dacom hopes will become an IP hub and compete with ADSL.
Dacom, however, denied it is not pushing for the take-over of Powercomm as its 2002 business focus is placed on swinging back to profitability, which does not include mergers and acquisitions. (insight@koreaherald.co.kr Source : Korea Herald - 2002.02.15
SAMSUNG PRET A ENTRER AU CAPITAL DE KOREAN TELECOM
Samsung vient d'annoncer son désir de prendre 15% de KT, alors que le gouvernement coréen entraîne KT dans un processus de privatisation. La Corée du Sud devrait mettre sur le marché environ 28,4% du capital de KT. Rappelons que Microsoft détient déjà 3,2% du capital pour 500 millions de dollars.
Si Samsung fait une offre limitée à 15%, c'est aue la procédure de privatisation n'autorise pas une société à prendre plus de 15%. D'après les analystes, Samsung pourrait acqu2rir 5% suppl2memtaire via d'autres sociétés, ce qui lui donnerait la majorité.
Ce rapprochement donnerait l'entreprise la plus puissante de Corée du Sud. L'année dernière, le gouvernement avait déjà vendu 11,8% du capital de KT à des investisseurs étrangers. Source : La Lettre de l'Internet - 18/02/02
LE DOUTE PERDURE SUR LE RACHAT DE DAEWOO
General Motors aurait présenté une offre revue et corrigée et soulevé des questions concernant des dettes éventuellement dissimulées par le constructeur coréen.
Achètera. Achètera pas. L'attitude de General Motors entretient le doute quant à son intention de reprendre Daewoo. Le géant américain vient de présenter une offre revue et corrigée, selon le gouverneur de la banque créditrice Korea Development Bank. GM aurait soulevé plusieurs problèmes, dont celui de la dette éventuelle qui pourrait surgir après la reprise.
Le porte-parole de GM Corée a refusé de confirmer ces informations, se contentant d'affirmer que les négociations étaient en bonne voie. Cependant, des propos tenus ces derniers jours par Robert Lutz, vice-président de General Motors et responsable de ses activités nord-américaines, font craindre que le constructeur américain ne renonce à son projet de reprendre une partie des activités de Daewoo.
Robert Lutz aurait en effet indiqué lors d'une rencontre avec des analystes que General Motors pourrait investir 500 millions de dollars pour rénover son usine de voitures dans l'Ohio aux Etats-Unis afin d'en faire un centre de fabrication de voitures compactes. "Une des options pour General Motors serait de fermer toutes les lignes d'assemblage de petites voitures en Amérique du Nord et de faire de Daewoo son fabricant stratégique de voitures compactes... Mais les voitures produites à l'étranger risquent de ne pas satisfaire aux habitudes des consommateurs américains", aurait déclaré Robert Lutz.
Le dossier Daewoo pourrait par ailleurs ne pas figurer à l'ordre du jour de la réunion du conseil d'administration de General Motors qui doit se tenir le 11 février, indique le Korea Herald, cité par la revue de presse du CCFA. Source : autoactu.com 08/02/2002
DAEWOO REDUIT DE 40% SES EFFECTIFS A FAMECK Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : Les Echos 28/01/02
MICRON ET HYNIX METTENT FIN A LEUR PROJET D'ALLIANCE Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : Les Echos 30/01/02
LE COREEN HYNIX RELEVE SES PRETENTIONS POUR SA REPRISE PAR MICRON Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : La Tribune - 21/02/02
INFINEON DISCUTE AVEC LE COREEN HYNIX Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : Les Echos 01/02/02
RENAULT SAMSUNG TO CULTIVATE GLOBAL SALES FORCE - By Seo Jee-yeon
Q: Could you tell us about this year's recruiting plan?
A: Renault Samsung Motors (RSM), the French-Korean carmaker, uses a needs-based rolling recruiting system rather than the annual one-time recruiting system available at the majority of Korean firms.
This year we plan to launch the new line of SM3 sedans (a sequel to the SM5) in the second half of 2002. We are scheduled to hire 200 new employees as customer advisors (CAs). These employees make up our sales force with half of those recruited allocated to entry-level sales staffers, and the other half assigned as experienced sales professionals.
As for job openings for entry-level positions among college graduates, we started to receive applications from candidates last December and are busy finalizing the recruiting process this month. Job openings for experienced sales professionals are scheduled for the second half of this year.
However, as we recruit new staff based on our needs, I recommend job candidates for the CA positions to send their resume via our online website, www.renaultsamsungm.com. Online applications through our corporate homepage save time and effort for candidates and the company, and also guarantee safe and correct delivery. We offer feedback to online candidates ensuring that they have all the information they need for a job at Renault Samsung.
Q: How many job candidates applied for customer sales positions?
A: For 100 job openings, about 330 entry-level candidates knocked on our door in the current recruiting campaign. Of these, 20 percent are two-year college graduates while 80 percent are four-year college graduates. Twenty percent of the total candidates are women.
Q: Could you tell us your overall evaluation of this current recruiting system?
A: Personally I am a bit disappointed with the results because we expected more applications given the frozen job market. I guess the negative pre-conceptions around sales positions remain, with sales work regarded as being a lower job when compared with office work.
However, relationship sales are fading. The status of the sales position as a professional becomes higher as sales tactics become more systemized and advanced due to technology,
Q: What kind of talents are RSM looking for in CA posts?
A: We welcome candidates who are able to respect Renault Samsung's virtues of passion, warmth and harmony. On top of that, we like passionate candidates for the CA positions. We do not think language ability is necessary when evaluating a candidate, but in the global era I believe such ability would open the candidate up to more opportunities.
Q: Could you describe more about the CA position and the kind of opportunities it has for career development?
A: New staff at the entry-level have to complete three months training and are dispatched to RSM sales branches. In the longrun they can become sales branch managers. As usual, it takes eight to 10 years for an entry level CA to become a branch manager. Another option I would like to highlight is the opportunity to go global via RSM's overseas network. We are tapping into exchange programs for sales positions through Renault's overseas network.
Q: What is the pay situation?
A: Payment for CAs is composed of a basic salary plus incentives based on sales performances. There is a different basic salary applied between two-year and four-year college graduates, but the level of incentives is the same for the two groups.
On average, a CA sells six to seven SM5s a month. The average income for workers in sales department is 150 percent higher than workers in operations.
This year, 14 CAs, including those at entry-level, got paid 100 million won.
Q: What about Renault open internships?
A: We are planning to offer internships for research positions in the near future.
Q: Could you offer advice to college graduates looking for jobs?
A: Given the fact that companies prefer experienced candidates to recent college graduates, I would recommend that young job seekers get some working experiences first, even if they are not fully satisfied with their first job.
jyseo@koreatimes.co.kr - Source : Korea times - 20/01/2002
LES VENTES DE RENAULT-NISSAN SAUVEES PAR SES RESULTATS EN COREE Si cet article vous intéresse, n'hésitez pas à nous en demandez une copie. Source : La Tribune - 31/01/02
SUEZ: TRACTEBEL LORGNE SUR L'ASIE.
(Cercle Finance) - La filiale énergétique de Suez, Tractebel a annoncé lundi avoir soumis une offre pour la reprise de la participation d'Enron dans le capital du distributeur de gaz sud coréen SK-Enron. Tractebel s'est bien gardée de fournir le montant proposé mais une première estimation avait été fournie il y a trois ans lors de la constitution de cette joint venture entre Enron et SK-Corp qui avait été faite sur la base de 300 millions de dollars (339MlsE).
Tractebel a déjà investi plus d'un milliard de dollars depuis son entrée sur le marché asiatique en 1995 avec des implantations à Singapour, en Corée du Sud et en Thailande notamment.
La prise de contrôle de SK-Enron lui permettrait de porter sa participation dans la fourniture du gaz dans les villes de Corée du Sud de 5% actuellement à près de 30%.
La firme belge n'est toutefois pas la seule en lice sur le dossier puisque Royal Dutch Shell et El Paso Corp auraient également manifesté leur intérêt auprès du courtier en faillite Enron.
Tractebel a par ailleurs émis le souhait de se développer en Chine et regarde "intensément" le marché pour acquérir idéalement d'un producteur d'énergie indépendant. Source : Boursorama - 22/01/2002
DES CONTRATS SUPPLEMENTAIRES POUR JC DECAUX
(AOF) - JC Decaux, l'un des leaders de la communication extérieur et numéro un en Europe, annonce que le groupe a remporté six nouveaux contrats en Europe, en Amérique du Sud, et en Asie. Ces contrats représentent au total 5117 faces publicitaires, pour un chiffre d'affaires estimé de 250 millions d'euros.
En Asie, le groupe a signé un accord de partenariat avec la société In-Poong, leader de la publicité extérieure en Corée du Sud, pour développer conjointement un contrat publicitaire portant sur la conception et l'installation d'abris pour les taxis de la ville de Séoul, soit 1052 faces publicitaires et un chiffre d'affaires estimé de 30 millions d'euros. La Corée est le 7ème marché publicitaire mondial juste après la France et l'Italie, et le second en Asie derrière le Japon. Source : Boursorama - 18/02/2002
HFM (LAGARDERE) LANCE "25 ANS" EN COREE
Le 20 février 2002, la société coréenne Hachette Next Media, joint venture constituée par les groupes Hachette Filipacchi Médias et le coréen Next Media, lancera "25 ans", magazine féminin haut de gamme. Hachette Next Media publie déjà les éditions coréennes de ELLE et de Première.
"Magazine de référence du luxe et de l'élégance au Japon, "25 ans" qui s'adresse à des lectrices très aisées, couvre le monde des marques de luxe, en particulier des produits de mode et de cosmétiques importées, avec une approche très pragmatique de la consommation" indique HFM dans son communiqué. Source : Boursorama - 19/02/02
