Overseas branches of South Korean firms see economy getting worse

[THE INVESTOR] South Korean companies’ overseas operations feel that they are subjected to increasingly tougher regulations by foreign governments, and expect conditions to worsen during the second half of the year, a survey showed on July 3.

In a Federation of Korean Industries survey, Korean firms’ overseas operations said that economic conditions are likely to worsen in the final six months of the year citing uncertainties facing US, China and other major economies. 

Of the 1,380 overseas operations of FKI members, 251 responded to the survey and put the business survey index for the coming months at 88.5.

BSI of above 100 indicates positive assessment, and below the baseline indicates negative assessment.

About a quarter of the respondents also said that protectionism was becoming increasingly palpable. Of the respondents, 25.2 percent said that foreign companies were being more stringently regulated in the countries they are based in. Of these, 31.7 percent said that new regulations have been introduced, while 41.3 percent said that existing regulations were being applied more stringently.

By Choi He-suk (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)