Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been found, on average, to owe debts to fewer than four financial institutions, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business said.
Additionally, 33 per cent of the Korean SMEs have debts of over 5 billion won (US$4million), the federation said. In a study of 100 SMEs with over 50 employees, 81 per cent of the companies' debts were from bank loans. Government funding accounted for 13 per cent, and money borrowed from non-bank financial institutions took up 2 per cent.
Only 16 per cent of the SMEs targeting domestic consumers had debts of more than 5 billion won, 45 per cent of exporting companies had debts of over 5 billion won.
Source: Joong Ang Daily
