The government has started to churn out detailed policy measures geared toward realizing President Park Geun-hye’s economic vision ― building a “creative economy.”
On Wednesday, the government unveiled steps aimed at boosting investment in venture companies, the key players in an innovation-driven economy.
The package is highlighted by measures designed to ensure that capital invested in venture companies is easily recouped and re-invested.
Thus far, the government has focused on supporting venture entrepreneurs in the start-up stage. But private investors have been reluctant to put their money in such fledgling companies.
It is not just because investment in venture firms is risky. It is more because there are few options available for investors to retrieve their investments.
In Korea, an investor who has provided equity capital to a business start-up has virtually no way to reclaim his money other than waiting for the company to list its shares on the tech-savvy KOSDAQ market through an initial public offering.
But it takes 14 years on average for a start-up to get listed on the KOSDAQ. Given the long payback period, it is no wonder that private investment in venture companies has continued to decline.
To tackle this problem, the package proposes to build an ecosystem in which investment capital circulates unrestricted. This is a step in the right direction, although it remains to be seen whether the proposed measures will be implemented as envisioned.
First, the government plans to increase angel investment by offering investors tax incentives. This measure is intended to help companies in the start-up phase secure equity funding more easily.
Currently, entrepreneurs who have used up their initial funding mostly rely on bank loans to keep their companies afloat. But equity funding is more preferable to loans as it reduces their risks.
The government also plans to activate mergers and acquisitions of technology-intensive venture firms to facilitate the recouping of capital by investors. A corporation that acquires an innovative venture firm will be entitled to tax credits and other benefits.
More importantly, the government plans to exempt an entrepreneur who sells off his firm from transfer tax. This measure will enable the entrepreneur to use the proceeds from the sale of his company either to start up a new venture or to invest in other companies.
The package also calls for launching a new stock market, dubbed the KONEX, in July to help venture companies raise capital more easily. The new exchange will also help investors develop exit strategies.
These and other measures are expected to stimulate investment in the venture sector. The Korea Capital Market Institute estimated that they would increase investment in venture companies by 4.3 trillion won over the next five years.
Yet drafting a policy is the easy part. The devil lies in its implementation. Policymakers need to closely monitor the effects of the proposed steps and take follow-up measures to ensure that they produce the intended outcomes. They also need to guard against another bubble in the venture industry.
