The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Kim Yong-hwan, “Korea Eximbank”) announced on October 21 that it selected 25 SMEs and medium-large companies as Hidden Champion candidates for the second half of 2013.

The number of potential Korean Hidden Champions under Korea Eximbank’s tutelage has thereby increased to a total of 302.

Starting from 2014, moreover, Korea Eximbank is planning to shift gear on its Hidden Champion program, from selecting candidates to seriously promoting their growth.

Korean Hidden Champions are global medium-large enterprises whose products rank among the top five in terms of global market share and whose annual exports exceed USD 300 million, or those with more than KRW 1 trillion in sales, of which over 50% consist of exports.

The candidates selected this time, on average, own 25 patents, devote 14% of their employees to work in R&D, and boast average sales and exports of KRW 143 billion and KRW 79.8 billion, respectively.

Many of the selected candidates were outliers in terms of job creation (averaging a 13% employment growth rate) and technological innovation (36% of whom are in the green, ICT and other technology industries).

Korea Eximbank is to provide wide-ranging support to these candidates ？ from financing their export/import-related activities and foreign investments to offering non-financial services such as recruitment support, legal advice, and investigation of importer credit ？ to help them become Korean Hidden Champions.

As of last September, the bank has provided a total of KRW 15.19 trillion in financing to the Hidden Champion candidates.

According to Korea Eximbank, the average sales growth rate of Hidden Champion candidates in 2012 (6.0%) surpassed the averages for both KOSPI-listed (4.6%) and KOSDAQ-listed (5.2%) firms.

Their average operating margin (5.7%) also exceeded the KOSPI (5.1%) and KOSDAQ (5.6%) averages, indicating that the Hidden Champion program serves as a strong ladder of globalization for Korean SMEs.

Korea Eximbank Chairman Kim Yong-hwan said, “Korea needs more Hidden Champions that will lead the era of USD 2 trillion in trade. We will fully commit ourselves to helping SMEs and medium-large companies with high technological and business potential become Korean Hidden Champions.”

Korea Eximbank’s Korean Hidden Champion Initiative was launched in October 2009 as a program to incubate globally competitive exporters.

To date, 302 domestic SMEs and medium-large companies have been selected as Hidden Champion candidates, including the 25 companies chosen this time.

15 of those candidates have already been crowned as Korean Hidden Champions during the four years since the launch of the program.