Learning from S
Korea¡¦s success
By Eric Chiou ªô«³§»
The latest news that South Korea will join the ¡§20-50¡¨ club of advanced
countries by the end of this month ¡X surpassing the threshold of US$20,000 gross
national income per capita with a population of 50 million ¡X again arouses mixed
feelings among Taiwanese about the East Asian country.
South Korea¡¦s rapid ascent in the global economic rankings over the past decade
is fascinating. People who have recently traveled to Seoul are amazed by the
drastic change in the skyline along with the modernization of the city.
South Korea¡¦s economic rise can be observed through many indicators. For
example, according to a WTO report last year, South Korea was ranked the world¡¦s
seventh-biggest exporter at a value of US$466 billion, while Taiwan declined to
16th place.
In the UN¡¦s 2009 World Investment Report, three of South Korea¡¦s biggest
conglomerates ¡X LG, Samsung and Hyundai ¡X placed in the world¡¦s top 100
non-financial transnational corporations, whereas Taiwan had none. Needless to
say, South Korean popular culture has taken the place of the Japanese to become
the most popular in Asia, reportedly generating US$3.8 billion in revenue from
overseas markets last year.
Over the past decade, Taiwan has regarded South Korea as a primary competitor,
while South Korea has strived to catch up with Japan. As most Taiwanese
companies were satisfied to earn money by taking advantage of China¡¦s cheap
labor with the conventional original equipment manufacturing model, South Korean
companies were working hard to expand their market shares in developed countries
and to bolster their reputations in emerging economies with their own domestic
brands.
While South Korea has concluded free-trade agreements (FTA) with the EU, the US,
ASEAN and India ¡X accounting for a significant portion of its total trade ¡X
Taiwan still struggles with follow-up negotiations connected to the Economic
Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) with China and has produced no observable
progress on any FTAs.
Many attribute South Korea¡¦s latest success to the bold and proactive actions
taken by its government to support local firms and blame Taiwan¡¦s misguided
industrial policies, inflexible regulations and laggard bureaucracy, for
example.
Given the differences in economic structures, population and the external
constraints that exist between the two countries, it is not always fair to
compare Taiwan and South Korea.
What is more important is to appreciate and learn the strengths and merits of
the other. From this perspective, the supportive measures adopted by the South
Korean government to encourage its companies to expand overseas are not only
admirable, but the close collaboration between the public and private sectors as
well as the spirit of collective teamwork between large corporations and small
and medium-sized enterprises (SME) are similarly worth learning from.
For example, South Korea¡¦s trade with ASEAN countries has improved remarkably in
recent years. Trade between South Korea and Indonesia, the largest nation in
Southeast Asia, has increased threefold in the past few years, from US$10.8
billion in 2007 to US$30 billion last year.
By targeting this promising emerging economy, South Korea is now expected to
boost trade with Indonesia to US$100 billion by 2020 with the implementation of
a comprehensive economic partnership agreement. Not surprisingly, anyone who
passes through the customs channel at Jakarta¡¦s main airport can easily locate
TV monitors with noticeable LG logos. Similarly, gigantic billboards advertising
Samsung¡¦s products are erected on the top of many modern buildings along
Jakarta¡¦s major avenues. With the increasing spread of South Korean factories in
Indonesia, South Korean shops and restaurants have also started to flourish.
From official FTA-boosting efforts through to the ambitions of private companies
to expand overseas, South Korea has shown an incredible determination and
solidarity to project its economic influences abroad. This has allowed it to
pursue its global economic ascendancy with firm collaboration and united action
from policies and guidance supported by the government.
By contrast, the private and public sectors in Taiwan are estranged partners.
Business owners often complain about the government¡¦s prolific red tape, its
lack of support and its indifference toward the harsh competition they face.
Officials, on the other hand, defend themselves by citing regulatory constraints
and legal limitations. However, in the growing integrated global economy where
business competition gets evermore intense, the importance of collective action
and cross-sector collaboration becomes more crucial.
Consequently, the role of government to provide companies with appropriate
support and timely assistance should be emphasized. This point is particularly
vital for Taiwanese companies, since the majority of them are SMEs, which are
relatively disadvantageous in terms of personnel, finance, marketing and
knowledge when it comes to exploring overseas business opportunities.
Given that a breakthrough in Taiwan¡¦s FTA impasse remains unforeseeable, the
Taiwanese government may consider taking more proactive action and adopting more
pragmatic strategies to help local companies expand into overseas markets to
counter South Korea¡¦s fierce competition and arrest the downward spiral of
Taiwan¡¦s global trade.
According to an SME white paper ¡X published last year by the Small and Medium
Enterprise Administration ¡X the obstacles Taiwanese companies encounter when
operating overseas include a lack of marketing channels and a shortage of
international trading personnel. In addition, companies also complain that they
lack relevant information about overseas markets and face thorny regulatory
barriers from importing countries.
Given the small scale and limited capacity of Taiwanese companies, the
government could consider taking a more proactive role in planning a long-term
strategy, coordinating all public and private sector sources, uniting different
sectors of industries and providing key support to further enhance the
competitiveness of Taiwanese companies in the global marketplace.
Take the organization of a carrier battle group as a metaphor: The government
should play the role of flagship commanding its various battleships and fighter
jets and providing them with accurate information, sufficient ammunition and
timely logistic support. More importantly, it has to set a practical and
well-organized battle plan by coordinating all units of the fleet in order to
bring their firepower into full play.
Learning from South Korea¡¦s recent successes in establishing itself in emerging
economies, the following points may be worth consideration:
First, on the domestic front, the government must recognize the strengths and
disadvantages of Taiwanese companies, understand the difficulties they face and
provide the key assistance they desperately need. To achieve this, regular and
candid dialogue between the government and industries is required. In this
regard, various industrial/business associations should assume this pivotal role
in unifying the myriad Taiwanese SMEs and faithfully express their requirements
to the government.
The government should coordinate different associations from across various
sectors and professions, seek cross-sectoral cooperation and organize a united
front when pursuing expansion into overseas markets.
Second, given the various constraints placed on SMEs, the government should
provide all necessary support and practical assistance to help these companies
penetrate overseas markets.
In addition to holding typical business fairs and exhibitions to attract foreign
buyers and create business opportunities for Taiwanese companies, the government
should go beyond the role of simply matchmaking by extending services to include
marketing analysis by sector; legal and regulatory consultation; and information
on local businesses, for example, in the countries being targeted by Taiwanese
firms.
It is particularly crucial for the government to help companies overcome the
enormous regulatory barriers they face in emerging countries since many of these
economies have rather complicated and puzzling regulatory requirements for
foreign products.
This extension of the government¡¦s support would help businesses to reduce their
risks and operating costs substantially, while effectively improving the
efficiency of Taiwanese companies doing business abroad.
Third, considering the importance of market intelligence to overseas business
expansion, the government should establish offices in a few targeted nations to
provide Taiwanese companies with practical and timely information, such as
updated customs regulations, importation application procedures and relevant
major industrial policy changes. These offices could also serve as a one-stop
shop to provide useful solutions and answer Taiwanese companies¡¦ inquiries when
operating in that country.
Although Taiwan¡¦s overseas representative offices and the branch offices of the
Taiwan External Trade Development Council take partial responsibility for the
aforementioned functions, it remains essential that the government integrate
relevant resources and set up offices that would allow them to concentrate on
providing help to Taiwanese companies abroad.
Finally, the government should consider deploying industrial associations,
academs or think tanks to conduct regular, in-depth market surveys and
regulatory investigations of targeted countries and provide Taiwanese firms with
the most up-to-date and useful information, which would help make up for
weaknesses in the knowledge gap.
Furthermore, the compilation of export guides ¡X by sector and nation ¡X with
standard operating procedures laid out in detail so that companies can access
overseas markets seems necessary and valuable, since it can effectively reduce
Taiwanese companies¡¦ learning costs, increase their willingness to go abroad and
improve their chances of success.
In the past, Taiwan¡¦s policies designed to support its corporations were not as
sophisticated, nor did they include a long-term view like those of Japan, while
they were not as bold and aggressive as those in South Korea.
Perhaps it is time to revamp the existing routine and to renovate our
business-government relationship, in order to take on the arduous challenges
that lie ahead.
Eric Chiou is an associate research fellow at the Taiwan Institute of
Economic Research.
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