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The government¡¯s economic policies are uncertain and red tape remains in the way of a full economic recovery, top executives with Korea¡¯s leading corporations believe. A recent survey by the Chosun Ilbo of 110 CEOs in firms other than financial institutions also reveals that Japan¡¯s Toyota is the international company most want to benchmark.
Respondents were cautious in their description of economic realities, with 54 percent saying the economy is still in recession even though it has bottomed out, while 46 percent said it was on the way to recovery. None said it was either at its worst or booming. Most said they would invest aggressively, predicting that the economy will get better this year. Sixty-one percent said they will increase investment from last year, while only 8 percent said they would throttle back.
More than half of the respondents or 53 percent said they produced business plan for this year on the premise that the dollar will hover between W1,000-W1,050, compared to 35 percent who expected the dollar to fall below W1,000. The three largest shipbuilding companies -- Hyundai, Daewoo and Samsung -- are watching the foreign exchange rate and fluctuations in oil prices more closely than any other industry.
The CEOS are still unhappy with government policy and regulations. Fifty-eight percent said they were dissatisfied with economic policies, as against a mere 4 percent who were satisfied. ¡°Political leaders lack a correct understanding of the economic situation,¡± one commented. ¡°The government has failed to gain the trust of players in the market.¡± A case in point is that even though the government has promised to ease regulations to create a more business-friendly environment, many companies feel that has yet to happen. Some 69 percent said there is still too much red tape, even if in some cases regulations have been reduced, while 11 percent said regulations are proliferating.
The vast majority of respondents would benchmark Toyota among global companies. CJ Group chairman Son Kyung-sik and Hynix CEO Woo Eui-je said companies should focus on learning the secrets of Toyota to maintain their competitiveness. General Electric was the second choice with 19 percent and Samsung Electronics with 15 percent. Among the 16 respondents who chose Samsung Electronics, 15 were working for companies other than Samsung subsidiaries. ¡®
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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