Competition between Korea, China intensifies in ASEAN market

Competition between South Korean exporters and their Chinese rivals has been intensifying in the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations over the past years, a report showed Sunday.

The report by the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade showed that Chinese exporters are steadily catching up with South Korean competitors in the ASEAN market, especially on technology goods.

The report cited the "export competition index," which measures the extent to which two countries export the same products. The higher the figure, the more the countries are likely to be rivals in the market.

The index between Korea and China stood at 70.2 in 2014, compared with 66.2 in 2010, according to the report.

Between 2010 and 2014, China's market penetration rate in four Asian countries -- Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand -- rose to 19.8 percent from 15.1 percent.

For the five-year period, Korea's market penetration rate in the four Asian nations rose to 7.6 percent from 6.4 percent.

As for the technology markets in the four Asian nations, Korea's market penetration rate rose by 2.83 percentage points, but China's market penetration rate jumped by 8.64 percentage points during the period.

In contrast, the index between Korea and Japan fell to 64.3 in 2014 from 66.4 in 2010.

With competition between Korea and China intensifying, Japan's market penetration rate in the ASEAN market declined in 10 major items.

The report urged South Korean exporters to make efforts to regain market shares in the ASEAN market by strengthening their competitiveness. (Yonhap)