As South Korea’s many conglomerates suffer from lagging exports, recent statistics show that venture companies are managing to improve their overseas business.

Korea International Trade Association said Sunday that although overall exports from the country from January to September this year fell by 8.5 percent on-year, those of venture companies were on a five-month growth streak.

The term venture companies here refers to small and mid-sized businesses that qualify for government support due to their excellence in technological capacity and growth potential. The state subsidies are defined based on the special law for fostering venture companies.

In September, the export volume by venture companies reached $1.54 billion, up by 8.8 percent from the same month last year.

The companies have seen a continuous surge in exports since reaching $1.48 billion in May. The aggregate volume for the first nine months of this year also reached $12.93 billion, a 2.4 percent rise compared to the same time period last year.

The increase rate among these businesses had lagged behind compared to the entire industry between 2011 and 2013, but took up a leading position since 2014.

While the companies here overall marked a 2.3 percent increase in exports, venture companies recorded 9.5 percent in 2014.

While the amount of total exports last year marked an 8.0 percent decline, venture companies left a 2.5 percent rise.

Industry watchers said the consistent rise in exports by the venture companies was mainly due to higher demand in the US, Vietnam, Japan and other major export destinations.

The volume of exports headed to the US during the first nine months reached $1.78 billion, an 8 percent increase on-year. The same was for Vietnam with 1.39 billion and an increase of 14.4 percent.

“Exports by South Korean venture companies rallied in these areas due to the fact that Vietnam is rising as an overseas production base, while the US saw improved employment conditions. … Japan also saw a smooth recovery that led to an increase in exports,” KITA said in the report.

Exports to China, on the other hand, dropped by 4.7 percent during the nine months at $3.18 billion.

By item, semiconductors and wireless communication equipment led the growth.

The export volume in the semiconductor field rose by 7 percent to $941.4 million.

That of wireless telecommunication devises rose by 19 percent on year to reach $872.9 million.

Exports of consumer goods such as soap, toothpaste and cosmetics also increased by 47.3 percent to $311.3 million. (khnews@heraldcorp.com)