The Export-Import Bank of Korea (www.koreaexim.go.kr, Chairman Lee Duk-hoon, "Korea Eximbank") announced on July 1 that the bank held the inaugural conference of the 'KEXIM (Korea Eximbank) Hidden Champion Club' at the 63 Convention Center in Seoul.

The conference was attended by around 160 participants including CEOs and executives of SMEs and medium-large companies, and Chairman Lee Duk-hoon and the regional branch directors of Korea Eximbank.

The KEXIM Hidden Champion Club is a nationwide network organized by some 270 CEOs of SME and medium-large exporters participating in Korea Eximbank's Korean Hidden Champion Initiative.

It is hoped that the Hidden Champion Club would accelerate the growth of Korean Hidden Champions by promoting communication, know-how sharing, and mutual support among member corporations.

The Club plans to foster ties among members through regular meetings and to share information by organizing seminars, lectures by featured speakers, and visits to member companies, as well as exploring the way forward for SME and medium-large exporters.

Korea Eximbank Chairman Lee Duk-hoon remarked at the conference, "I hope the Hidden Champion Club will offer a space for companies to freely associate with one another and share their concerns regardless of their sector, locality, or company size - a productive field that will generate diverse opportunities for business collaboration."

Following the inaugural conference, Korea Eximbank held a ceremony to officially certify nine new firms* as Korean Hidden Champions.
* KHvatec, Elentec, Korea PowerTrain, Pyeong Hwa Automotive, Hiairkorea, Dreamtec, Humax, Pan-Pacific, and Patron.

Korean Hidden Champions are globally competitive upper medium-sized companies that export more than USD 300 million annually and whose global market shares rank within the top five in their respective sectors; or whose sales revenues exceed KRW 1 trillion, of which more than 50% consists of exports.

The newly certified Hidden Champions are highly successful medium-large companies who either sell products ranking within the top five in terms of global market share, or post sales of KRW 1 trillion or above.

Their average number of patents (76), sales (KRW 625.3 billion), and exports (KRW 495.2 billion) speak to their sustainable global market dominance.

This year's new Hidden Champions represent the third wave of companies to earn the title since the first seven Hidden Champions were crowned in 2012, joined by eight more in the following year.

Korea Eximbank is strengthening support for SMEs and medium-large companies, as reflected in the recently amended Korea Eximbank Act specifying the 'facilitation of the export and import transactions and entry overseas of SMEs and medium-large companies' as an official mandate of the organization.

As part of its efforts to foster the growth of smaller businesses, the bank allotted KRW 25.5 trillion to its SME support program that is customized to the stages of growth of individual SMEs, aiding their transition from novice exporters to mid-level exporters, and finally to Hidden Champions.

To go beyond the simple role of a lender, the bank is also considering provision of various non-financial services to help companies enter foreign markets, such as exchange risk management consulting and employee training programs.