Annual exports by small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will top US$100 bn by 2007, the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) predicted yesterday.
Exports by SMEs will reach US$73 bn this year, US$89.2 bn in 2005 and US$108.9 bn in 2007, SMBA administrator Ryu Chang-moo said.
Foreign shipments by SMEs amounted to US$56.9 bn in 1997, US$64.6 bn in 2001 and US$68.3 bn last year. They totalled US$24.1 bn between January and April this year, up 26.6 per cent from the same period last year. Ryu said the SMBA will convert 1,000 small-sized manufacturing companies that rely solely on the domestic market into exporting companies under its incubator system.
The domestic-oriented manufacturing companies will be given assistance for overseas marketing and financing so they can begin exporting, he added.
About 100 small companies will be picked each year to tap the US$2 trillion international procurement market every year, Ryu said.
