On November 22, Korea Eximbank held a meeting for CEOs of 43 Hidden Champions* selected in the second half of this year at Millennium Seoul Hilton.

* Hidden champion refers to an SME with over USD 300 million in exports and potential for securing a sizeable market share in the global market.

In 2009, Korea Eximbank became the first institution in Korea to launch the Hidden Champion Project, a model for fostering global SME leaders, and has so far selected a total of 185 candidate SMEs.

The meeting was held for the sharing of information about the progress of the Korea Eximbank Hidden Champion Program, successful management of foreign exchange risk, and business strategies regarding intellectual property rights.

FX Core Solution CEO Sang-yul Lee was the first to present. Speaking on the topic of “Successful Strategy on Foreign Exchange Risk Management,” President Lee stressed the importance of sound exchange risk management for export SMEs and introduced practical strategies.

Next, Vice President Choong-gon Koh of Intellectual Discovery presented on the topic of “The Era of Patent Wars and Management Strategies for Intellectual Property.” Vice President Koh spoke about the latest issues regarding patent applications and about the prevention & resolution of patent conflicts.

One participant stated, “Considering Korean SMEs are vulnerable to external variables, not only is timely export financing crucial but also the full support of policy financial institutions to resolve exchange rate and intellectual property issues is essential.”

Deputy President Dong-soo Park of Korea Eximbank stated, “We are strengthening communication with Hidden Champion candidates through various channels. To ensure leading SMEs do not experience difficulties due to volatile exchange rates and complex intellectual property problems, we will strive to provide them with timely financing and non-financial services as well.”

In fact, this year alone, Korea Exmibank has provided Hidden Champion candidates with a total of 323 non-financial services such as exchange rate management, legal advisory services for international contracts, and country information services.