New Year News Entrepreneurs Want: Price Stability and Interest Rate Cuts

Source=KCCI

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Dong-hoon] Businesspeople cited interest rate cuts due to price stabilization, the end of COVID-19, and the development of carbon-neutral new technologies as the news they want to hear in the new year of the Year of the Rabbit.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) announced on the 24th the results of a survey titled "Hopeful News Desired by Businesspeople in 2023," conducted with 3,267 businesspeople from 73 chambers of commerce nationwide to mark the new year.

The top hopeful news in the economic response category was a sudden interest rate cut due to price stabilization (51.2%). KCCI interpreted this as reflecting the burden from the sharply rising interest rates.

KCCI forecasted, "The effects of last year's rapid tightening monetary policy are likely to spread throughout the real economy from early this year, causing consumption recession, investment contraction, and instability in corporate and household debt."

Following this, the declaration of the end of COVID-19 (42.9%) and the end of the Russia-Ukraine war along with the decline in oil and raw material prices (39.1%) ranked second and third in the economic response hopeful news category, respectively.

Recovery of consumer goods export markets such as China (19.0%), strong exports of semiconductors and the so-called 'Taejo-Ibangwon' sectors (solar power, shipbuilding, secondary batteries, defense, nuclear power) (16.8%), and expansion of K-content exports (16.0%) also made the rankings.

In the future preparedness category, the development of carbon-neutral new technologies (46.6%) received the most votes from businesspeople.

South Korea and the international community are striving to transition to a carbon-neutral society by 2050, where net carbon emissions are zero, to slow global warming.

Also, in the future preparedness hopeful news, "total fertility rate rebounds after 7 years" (35.5%) ranked second, and "hosting the 2030 Busan World Expo" (29.4%) ranked third.

The host city for the 2030 Expo will be selected through on-site inspections starting in March, comprehensive presentations in June and November, and a vote by member countries of the International Bureau of Expositions (BIE) in November.

Additionally, a grand labor-management-government agreement and labor reform (28.6%), activation of economic support legislation through parliamentary cooperation (27.9%), and passage of education reform bills (19.7%) followed.

Kang Seok-gu, head of the KCCI Research Department, said, "Despite last year's difficult economic environment, meaningful achievements such as ranking sixth in global exports, large-scale orders in the defense sector, and the success of K-content have been made, so our businesspeople hold great hopes for this year as well."

He added, "As the saying goes, 'What matters is an unyielding spirit.' If each actor in the Korean economy holds hope and does their best in their respective positions, the wishes held in the new year can surely be realized."