Nearly eight out of every 10 South Korean businesses in Japan expect their annual sales to increase this year, a survey showed Monday, signaling a possible turnaround from five consecutive years of drop in the country's overall exports to Japan.
In the survey conducted by the Korea International Trade Association, 76 percent of 80 South Korean firms operating in Japan said they expect their sales to rise this year from a year earlier.
Containers waiting for shipment at a South Korean seaport. (Yonhap)
"In addition, more companies (25 percent) said they expected their business conditions to improve this year, surpassing the number of firms that expected their conditions to worsen (19 percent)," KITA said in a press release.
According to KITA, 39 percent of those surveyed singled out the won-yen exchange rate as the single most important factor that will affect their exports to Japan, while another 21 percent pointed to Korea-Japan relations as such.
"There need to be efforts by financial authorities to maintain the won-yen exchange rate at a level that can ensure profitability of local firms," it said.
KITA also urged government efforts to boost the labor exchange between South Korea and Japan, noting 79 percent of South Korean firms in Japan are facing difficulties in finding workers. (Yonhap)