From Munhwa Ilbo, January 03, 2014
http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2014010301030124182002&w=ns
http://www.munhwa.com/news/view.html?no=2014010301030124182002&w=ns
Translator: Simon Kim
As the value of the
Korean Won rises and the value of the Japanese Yen goes down, the price of a
Japanese brand 32 inch full HDTV is reported to be half that of the same from a
Korean company.
Japanese companies are
using the low value of the Yen to export vigorously, causing some discomfort
from Korean companies.
According to the Korean
Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on the 3rd of January, domestic firms
are feeling negative effects from the Yen’s fall in value in varying worldwide
markets.
The South East Asian
market is projected to grow by 5% this year. And electronics, steel, and machinery exports
to the region are being hit hard. KOTRA has discovered that prices of Japanese
consumer electronics have decreased in price by 20%. A price of a full HD 32
inch TV is reported to be $800 USD from one Korean company and $650 USD from
another Korean company. But a Sharp 32 inch HDTV was reported to be now $400
USD.
Sony has aggressively
signed an agreement with a local telecommunications company to provide its
phones free of charge. With steel, Japanese materials are 10 to 25% cheaper than Korean steel. And from
January to August of last year, Vietnamese steel imports from Japan increased
12.3% while imports from Korea decreased 19.1%.
An industry expert from
Germany says that the 15% drop in Japanese machinery prices from last April causes
Korean prices to become less competitive. Another expert from the US declares
that the variables most affecting new marketing strategies and current
agreements have most to do with the low Yen.
Japanese companies are
using the low Yen to sell at lower prices and create new marketing
opportunities. This is expected to continue and accelerate and Korean companies
need to worry the most as direct competitors.
A KOTRA spokesperson is
quoted as saying that Japanese profitability due to the low Yen results
directly against Korean exportation competitiveness. The spokesperson is said that
this will continue to negatively affect Korean competition as the value of the
Yen remains low.
