| 摘要 | 1. Research Purpose
Despite adverse conditions such as increased raw material cost and worsened price-competitiveness due to weak Euro-currency, Korea accomplished 64 billion dollars in plant exports by the end of 2010. Such accomplishment was the greatest sum in history. While the Korean companies�� strive to achieve such result, it was also due to increased and continuous project orders as the countries with natural resources expanded energy-related plant and infrastructure. Thus, it seems keys to continue the increase in Korea��s overseas energy plant contract are in internal factors such as strengthened export competitiveness and external factors such as possible expansion of overseas order quantity. Nevertheless, plant orders made by Korean energy plan companies are mostly focused on the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Such regional concentration worsens dependency on the region and also contains risks as insecurity in certain focus region could impact Korean overseas plant industry at large. Therefore, in order to continue Korean overseas energy plant industry, we should focus on seeking diversified contract regions
This study is intended to present the way forward to expand Korea's Overseas Energy plant business into five emerging and developing regions - Middle East, South East Asia, Central Asia, Africa and Latin America during last three years since 2009. As the third study of the three-year project, it deals with the potential in several Latin America Energy plant industries and causes poor performance at energy plant orders in Latin America. In addition, as the last study of the three-year series research project, this study review all previous studies in terms of status and prospect of energy infrastructure, energy policy and obstacles to advance into the countries we would like to enter more for the energy plant orders. Under the review, this study presents comprehensively supports and efforts Korea need in order to expand energy plant orders at five emerging regions with huge potential in Energy sectors.
2. Summary
The Latin American region is comprised of 33 countries. With its affluent resources, the region is rising as the new power in global economy after the global financial crisis. More importantly, the region is rising as the new resource production area along with Africa. Therefore, it has great potential in energy-related plant projects in the future. Especially in the upstream energy sector, entry of foreign companies is limited due to resource nationalism in Latin America. On the other hand, in terms of energy plant, limits on foreign company investment are in a relatively easing trend. Also, the market conditions are significantly improving as the countries promote privatization and competitive market policies to activate private investment.
Latin America has been emerging as strategically import region due to abundant natural resources. In this regards, many energy-related facilities to transport and export developed natural resources will be required in this region. Besides, many new power generation and its fuel-related projects will be given in Latin America, due to increasing electricity demand, with 4% of economic growth rate. However, even under such circumstance and potential in energy sector, Korea��s overseas energy plant orders in Latin America have been under poor performance.
Oil refining capacity in Latin America increased constantly from 6.98 million b/d in 2006 to 7.2 million b/d in 2010. Especially, refinery capacity expansion is expected in Brazil, Chile, Trinidad & Tobago, and Colombia. Total refinery capacity in Latin America is expected to increase to 8.4 million b/d in 2015. Observing new power generation plant until 2035, expanded new power plant of 95GW will be promoted until 2020. However, between 2021 and 2035, necessary facility will be even more increase, requiring an expansion of 138GW. , power generation sector is likely to result in new investment equivalent of 400 billion dollars by 2035 in Latin America. Also in distribution sector, new investment will reach 200 billion dollars. Thus, potential in entry to Latin American power market will be the second largest in the developing world, only after Southeast Asia.
Even given such rosy environment and huge potential in Energy market, there exist some barriers to prevent Korea��s energy plant firms from receiving large plant orders in Latin America. one of them is strong local contents such as mandatory usage on local products, hiring local labors and establishing local incorporation. provide preferential and exclusive chances for foreign firms from countries who signed the FTA or cooperation treaties to win a bid on energy project. The other one is Korea overseas plant firms' little competitive advantage over European and USA firms who have maintained their market power due to close relationship with governments and contractors in Latin America and wide network for gathering contracting information. Accordingly, the late comer, Korean plants firms are not able to beat the global firms in the Latin Energy Market.
In order to get over barriers as noted above, It is necessary to strengthen strategic partnership with local firms or global construction firms who have been working in Latin America. The partnership with local firms will be beneficial to receive preference in contract bidding. Also strategic alliances with global firms who are familiar with local market conditions, well-developed human and physical network, can contribute to obtaining more overseas energy plant projects in Latin America.
Besides, we need to find a way to use loan and concessions from multinational development bank like IBRD, IDB which exclusively provide financial support to energy sectors in Latin America. So far, there is no record for any Korean firm to win energy plant projects financed by such multinational development banks in Latin America. It is largely due to the lack of familiarity and experience in project financed by International banks rather than to the complicate funding process with taking lot of time. Lately, Latin America Energy projects financed by multinational banks have been focused at the environment-friendly fields such as New and Renewable and Energy Efficiency. Korean plant business sector needs to develop projects to reflect this tendency and Korean government should support one-stop service to provide detailed information on the projects sponsored by international banks and to help complicate paper works for bidding
3. Research Results and Policy Suggestions
Using data provided by KOPIA, this research analyzes the contracts awarded to Korean companies between 2001 and Nov.2011 in five regions around the world in four sectors: oil and gas, maritime, power and equipments&materials. It showed that 537 contracts were awarded to the large construction companies, which counts 71% out of the total 754 contract. The remaining 217 contracts were awarded to 97 SMEs. Consequently, heavy dependency on large companies in Korea overseas plant business was observed. While the 15 largest companies demonstrates a tendency to focus on their specialized sectors, SMEs more rely on one sector in one region. 90 out of 97 SMEs succeed their contract on a single sector. In addition, only 16 out of 97 SMEs got contract in two or more regions. Thus, regional and sectoral concentration are also evident for SMEs.
The study also uncovered that contract were mostly awarded by local governments and national companies in the Middle East and Asia, but by global companies in Africa and Latin America. Thus, relationship-building with the contractors should be promoted differently in different regions based on this fact. On the other hand, contract earned through joint-ventures among local private companies, Korean local companies kept at mere 10%. Therefore, there is a need to invigorate a win-win cooperation between large companies and SMEs as well as cooperative relationship-building between local companies in order to increase number of overseas contract
Common challenges that Korean companies face in emerging five regions are: strong local contents such as protection of domestic companies and mandatory employment of locals, complex process and poor transparency in the bidding and licensing procedure, and tenacious corruption issues. Nevertheless, above-mentioned issues are external factors which can not be interrupted by Korean government and companies. Thus, rather than viewing them as challenges, these should be recognized as a part of the local culture. In this regard, it is deemed more important for the government to provide strategic support to tackle such cultural differences. The following recommendations are presented to strengthen policy support on expanding Korea overseas plant orders
First of all, it is required to expand financial support on on-going overseas energy plant projects and strengthened guarantee assistance to actualize interconnection between projects and insurance or guarantee limit for energy facility providers. Also, development aids, for example, ODA and EDCF, are provided more to the project which is helpful for Korea overseas energy business in recipient countries
Secondly, it is needed to promote technological improvement for energy facility companies through establishment on in-country test-beds in order to accumulate technology and experience, and also to expand R&D budget in the development of critical and original technology and critical equipment parts, which we rely on import exclusively.
Thirdly, global professionals should be fostered through academic-industrial training programs and human resource sharing system. Also, in order to expand overseas energy plant market information network, more professionals should be dispatched to the embassies as well as KOTRA offices in the target countries.
Lastly, in order to expand the energy plant orders to the target areas, it is more effective to promote the projects combing energy facilities such as petrochemical, refining and environment-friendly industries (renewable and alternative energy) with SOC, which are mostly lack and needed in the areas. Such projects would be required to establish public-private partnership framework, under which the government, general trading company and EPC firms, financial institutions and national energy companies actively participate. |
