韩国JY表示，订单大笔从日本转向韩国，将产生长期影响

Turn to Korean Suppliers Could Hit Japanese Exporters Long-Term
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704517404576221932309100672.html

By ALASTAIR GALE

SEOUL—As companies scramble to ensure shipments of parts and materials from earthquake-hit Japan, some are turning to South Korean firms for alternative supplies—a move that could threaten Japanese exporters' supply deals in the longer-term.

While it is unclear how the disasters in Japan will shape the global supply chain in the long run, Korea is well-placed to take advantage of gaps. With a similar advanced industrial base geared toward exports—and little risk of natural disasters on the scale of the recent earthquake and tsunami—Korea competes with Japan in many industries, such as technology, autos and steel.

K.C. Tech Co., a semiconductor-equipment company based near Seoul, said Thursday it has had enquiries from foreign companies about increasing supplies of its equipment for polishing silicon wafers used in semiconductors. Meanwhile, GM Korea has said it may consider shifting to local parts suppliers and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering is in talks with Korean and Chinese firms about supplies.

Whether Korean companies can cement longer-term deals at the expense of Japanese companies is far from certain. But the disasters in Japan have put into stark relief the risks of relying in suppliers from a country exposed to major natural disasters.

Stemco, a Korean company that imports copper foil from Japan to produce circuit boards, said supply disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami were a further incentive for it to switch suppliers away from Japan as it faces a rising cost burden from the steady decline of the Korean won against the yen.

"We are giving serious consideration to changing our suppliers away from Japan to domestic companies and possibly to China after the earthquake," said a Stemco executive, who declined to be named.

The strength of the yen, which makes goods shipped from Japan less competitive, is a constant grouse of Japanese exporters. Late last year Japanese media reported that the country's major electric and auto companies lobbied, unsuccessfully, for the government to intervene to check the yen's appreciation against the won. On March 17, the yen marked its highest level against the won in two years of 14.3292 won and soared to an all-time high of ¥76.25 against the U.S. dollar before the G-7 launched its intervention campaign to knock it back down.

To be sure, for some Korean companies looking to increase their export business at the expense of Japanese firms, there's a challenge to match the technical expertise. But Korean companies have done a lot of catching up with their Japanese counterparts in recent years and are well-known as fast adapters.

"This is an opportunity for companies to upgrade and provide products for companies that currently get supplies from Japan," said Huh Chan-guk, an economics professor at Chungnam University in Daejeon.

"Small companies could benefit by improving their skills to gain strength," he said.

Korean government officials say that the long-term impact of the disasters on the domestic economy isn't likely to be significant, but they acknowledge that it could have a positive impact as local exporters gain market share and as Japan potentially needs to import more to aid its recovery.

On Thursday, steelmaker Posco said it expects extra steel demand of more than 1.5 million metric tons from Japan this year as the country starts to rebuild infrastructure. On Friday, it said it would invest $2 billion in new production facilities.

Kim Jung-wook, an analyst at Hana Daewoo Securities, said Posco may seek to make inroads into Southeast Asia, the main export market of Japanese steel firms. Analysts say auto makers such as Hyundai and Kia could also gain market share from their Japanese peers, who have had to idle some factories.

Private think-tank Korea Economic Research Institute said in a report Friday the earthquake and radiation scare in Japan will help the South Korean economy grow an additional 0.05 to 0.25 percentage point this year, primarily because of an increase in exports due to a disappearance or undersupply from Japanese competitors.

For Korean importers such as Stemco there are similar headaches to the problems Toyota and Ford are having in obtaining materials from Japan. Lee Ji-pyeong at LG Research Institute notes that Korea still relies on Japan for key parts and supplies to produce intermediary goods and finished products.

But for Korea's exporters, there may be long-term benefits if they can take the opportunity to secure new contracts to ship goods at the expense of ailing Japanese firms.

"At this stage, it's very difficult to work out whether Korea or other parts of Asia would become stronger or weaker as a consequence of the events in Japan, although there would be some winners and some losers," said Stephen King, chief economist at HSBC Bank PLC.
—Kyong-ae Choi , Jung-Ah Lee, and In-Soo Nam contributed to this article.Turn to Korean Suppliers Could Hit Japanese Exporters Long-Term
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704517404576221932309100672.html

By ALASTAIR GALE

SEOUL—As companies scramble to ensure shipments of parts and materials from earthquake-hit Japan, some are turning to South Korean firms for alternative supplies—a move that could threaten Japanese exporters' supply deals in the longer-term.

While it is unclear how the disasters in Japan will shape the global supply chain in the long run, Korea is well-placed to take advantage of gaps. With a similar advanced industrial base geared toward exports—and little risk of natural disasters on the scale of the recent earthquake and tsunami—Korea competes with Japan in many industries, such as technology, autos and steel.

K.C. Tech Co., a semiconductor-equipment company based near Seoul, said Thursday it has had enquiries from foreign companies about increasing supplies of its equipment for polishing silicon wafers used in semiconductors. Meanwhile, GM Korea has said it may consider shifting to local parts suppliers and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering is in talks with Korean and Chinese firms about supplies.

Whether Korean companies can cement longer-term deals at the expense of Japanese companies is far from certain. But the disasters in Japan have put into stark relief the risks of relying in suppliers from a country exposed to major natural disasters.

Stemco, a Korean company that imports copper foil from Japan to produce circuit boards, said supply disruptions caused by the earthquake and tsunami were a further incentive for it to switch suppliers away from Japan as it faces a rising cost burden from the steady decline of the Korean won against the yen.

"We are giving serious consideration to changing our suppliers away from Japan to domestic companies and possibly to China after the earthquake," said a Stemco executive, who declined to be named.

The strength of the yen, which makes goods shipped from Japan less competitive, is a constant grouse of Japanese exporters. Late last year Japanese media reported that the country's major electric and auto companies lobbied, unsuccessfully, for the government to intervene to check the yen's appreciation against the won. On March 17, the yen marked its highest level against the won in two years of 14.3292 won and soared to an all-time high of ¥76.25 against the U.S. dollar before the G-7 launched its intervention campaign to knock it back down.

To be sure, for some Korean companies looking to increase their export business at the expense of Japanese firms, there's a challenge to match the technical expertise. But Korean companies have done a lot of catching up with their Japanese counterparts in recent years and are well-known as fast adapters.

"This is an opportunity for companies to upgrade and provide products for companies that currently get supplies from Japan," said Huh Chan-guk, an economics professor at Chungnam University in Daejeon.

"Small companies could benefit by improving their skills to gain strength," he said.

Korean government officials say that the long-term impact of the disasters on the domestic economy isn't likely to be significant, but they acknowledge that it could have a positive impact as local exporters gain market share and as Japan potentially needs to import more to aid its recovery.

On Thursday, steelmaker Posco said it expects extra steel demand of more than 1.5 million metric tons from Japan this year as the country starts to rebuild infrastructure. On Friday, it said it would invest $2 billion in new production facilities.

Kim Jung-wook, an analyst at Hana Daewoo Securities, said Posco may seek to make inroads into Southeast Asia, the main export market of Japanese steel firms. Analysts say auto makers such as Hyundai and Kia could also gain market share from their Japanese peers, who have had to idle some factories.

Private think-tank Korea Economic Research Institute said in a report Friday the earthquake and radiation scare in Japan will help the South Korean economy grow an additional 0.05 to 0.25 percentage point this year, primarily because of an increase in exports due to a disappearance or undersupply from Japanese competitors.

For Korean importers such as Stemco there are similar headaches to the problems Toyota and Ford are having in obtaining materials from Japan. Lee Ji-pyeong at LG Research Institute notes that Korea still relies on Japan for key parts and supplies to produce intermediary goods and finished products.

But for Korea's exporters, there may be long-term benefits if they can take the opportunity to secure new contracts to ship goods at the expense of ailing Japanese firms.

"At this stage, it's very difficult to work out whether Korea or other parts of Asia would become stronger or weaker as a consequence of the events in Japan, although there would be some winners and some losers," said Stephen King, chief economist at HSBC Bank PLC.
—Kyong-ae Choi , Jung-Ah Lee, and In-Soo Nam contributed to this article.