Chungcheongnam-do

Chungnam’s Exportation Status.
Now Showing a Rapid Increase.

Firms in Chungnam achieved an exportation amount of USD 29.3 billion in 2004 placing the province the fifth nationwide with 11.5% of the total exportation amount USD 253.8 billion. That was a great result.

Such a result was caused by the efforts that Chungnam Provincial Government has made to make Chungnam a place they do business in a pleasant environment. Thus automobile and its part, electronics and informational device industries and businesses, and related S and M have grown.

In Chungnam Provincial Government, they actively support S and M businesses to promote their exportations. The supporting activities include dispatching an overseas market exploring group and participating in expositions, marketing overseas directly, and the like.

As a result, they supported 133 firms 38 times from 1998 to 2004 so that they have succeeded in a series of consultation achievements with USD 400 million since then. Thanks to such efforts, an exportation amount from S and M businesses was USD 3 billion in 2004, but it has already reached USD 3.2 billion as of the end of July 2005. That is an increase of 87.6% compared with the same term last year and it is anticipated that the amount will reach USD 5 billion by the end of 2005.

“Chungnam”, Where Foreign Firms Prefer to Invest

In the global era, new capital is required, and Chungnam Provincial government has been actively seeking foreign investment.

In spite of the recent poor atmosphere to induce investments caused by economic stagnation, the nuclear bomb problem in North Korea, labor and management problems, etc., they have induced USD 250 million in 2000, USD 580 million in 2002, and USD 1.2 billion in 2004. Each year, the amount has increased, and this trend is continuing.

Chungnam Province is preferred as an optimal place to do commerce with China taking advantage of the background of the capital circle in the central part of the nation and the Multifunctional Administrative City.

Also, Chungnam Province takes a role of a medium base connecting Yeongnam and Honam Industries to the capital circle. It maintains good and stable labor-management relations and has convenient traffic conditions that allow people to arrive from anywhere in the country within three hours. Further, it has a well-constructed infrastracture including roads and ports. A new industrial district has been formed on the axis of Cheonan, Asan, and Dangjin.

They operate a ‘PM (Project Manager) System’ to systematically support foreign investors with their activities. They provide a one-to-one and one-stop service from the beginning to the end for foreign investors. They operate a ‘system of help against difficulty’ to help foreign firms solve problems. Regular conferences and site visit are held to help foreigners. A total of 120 foreign firms have been introduced to Chungnam and now are doing business.

The Provincial Government has established branch offices overseas and a branch office in Seoul to positively induce a foreign investment so that they construct a commerce base by operating branch offices and support inducement activities systematically.

Yun Dae-seop, Director of international Relations & Trade Div. said that operations of the exhibition halls of New York Branch Office, Gumamoto Branch Office, and Shanghai Branch Office since 1997 have been of great help to advertise firms, and that his department is planning to deploy an induction of foreign invest more actively and positively.