A foreign venture company in the high-technology sector wants to make an investment in Korea. What kind of benefits can the investing company receive and how?

Objective

• To make use of the technology possessed by SME4s and promote the productization and commercialization of the technology as well as promote SMEs with focus on technological skills.

Amount of Benefits:

• KRW75 billion (based on the standards of 2004)

Eligibility for Benefits:

• Any SME, which has participated in a technology-supported business organized by a government agency such as the Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) within the last three years and has completed technology development successfully, and an Inno-Biz company selected by the SMBA.
• Any SME, which is in possession of a patent right within three years of its technology evaluation registration of the patent (including patent pending technology)
• Any SME, which wants to commercialize technology received through a transfer from a university or research institute in Korea or abroad within the past three years.

Range of Benefits

• For the production facilities and tests / evaluations needed for the mass production of products using the developed technology;
• For the operation of daily business activities and for the commercialization of the developed technology and the patent, such as purchase of raw material and market penetration costs.

Conditions of the Loan

• Annual interest rate of 4.9% (flexible rate);
• Repayment within a maximum of five years (including a two-year grace period);
• Amount of loan is KRW 500 million per year per company (KRW300 million for operating capital);
• The loan can be applied for directly at the Small Business Corporation (SBC).

Process

• Application and Registration

– Application at a local office of the Small Business Corporation (SBC);
– In case of a loan through a reference, the SBC notifies the Korea Technology
Credit Guarantee Fund (Technology Evaluation Center) and requests an
investigation.
• Investigation and Final Decision

– In case of a pure credit loan, a pre-evaluation will be made at the local office of
the SBC and an on-the-spot inspection will be conducted by the local office of
the SBC together with the local office of the SMBA before the final decision is
made by the Fund Selection Committee;
– In case of a loan through a reference by the Korea Technology Credit Guarantee
Fund, the final decision about the grant will be made after evaluation and
investigation of the technology in one of the 10 local technology evaluation
centers.

• Location of Application and Registration

– Local office of the Small Business Corporation (SBC)