As of the end of last year, there were 617 venture companies (venture 100 billion companies) with sales of 100 billion won or more. It has increased by 30 places from the previous year. 62 newly entered, 32 were excluded. The average period of time to achieve sales of 100 billion won was 17.5 years, the shortest at 11.7 years for software development and IT-based services, and 25.0 years for medical and pharmaceuticals. Total sales of 617 venture firms were 140 trillion won, ranking fourth in the business world after Samsung Electronics (254 trillion won), Hyundai Motors (179 trillion won) and SK (161 trillion won). In addition, the total number of employees of 100 billion venture companies was 232,000, an increase of 6,000 compared to the previous year, ranking second in the business world.
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Seong-Chun Kang, hereinafter the Ministry of SMEs) announced the results of the 2020 Venture 100 Billion Companies Survey. This survey analyzed sales, export status, employment, technology development (R&D) and industrial property rights of 617 venture companies as of the end of 2019.
■32 companies were eliminated from 100 billion clubs…1 trillion ventures totaling 13
As of the end of 2019, there were 617 ventures, an increase of 30 (5.1%) compared to the end of 2018 (587). 62 companies were the first to achieve 100 billion won in sales, and 32 were excluded from venture 100 billion.
Among the 100 billion venture companies, 13 companies with more than 1 trillion won in sales increased by 2 from the previous year (11 companies). By sales segment, most of them accounted for 67.4% (416 companies) with 100 billion to 200 billion won.
The average time required to achieve sales of 100 billion won was 17.5 years, the shortest at 11.7 years for software development and IT-based service industries, and the longest at 25 years for healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
The total sales of 100 billion venture companies increased 6,1824 billion won (4.6%) over the previous year to about 140 trillion won, which is the fourth largest in the business world after SK compared to large companies.
In particular, venture 100 billion companies were found to be superior to large, mid-sized, and small and medium-sized companies in terms of financial and management performance such as growth, profitability and stability. The net profit margin of sales was 5.9%, which was 1.9 times that of large companies (3.1%) and 2.7 times that of SMEs (2.2%).
In 2019, the average sales of 100 billion venture companies fell slightly (0.4%) compared to last year, but large and mid-sized companies also fell 7.2% and 5.8% compared to the previous year.
■100 billion venture companies employing a total of 232,000 people
The total number of employees of 100 billion venture companies was 232,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous year. However, the average number of employees per company was 382, down 2.3% from the previous year.
■494 export companies…Total export amount is 30 trillion won
As of the end of last year, 494 (81.5%) of venture companies were exported, an increase of 7.9% (36) compared to the previous year, and the total export amount reached 30 trillion won, an increase of about 8.0% (2,234.6 billion won). It is equivalent to 7.8% of the exports of large companies (382.5 trillion won) during the same period.
The number of export companies was 494, only 0.5% of Korea’s export companies (91,26), but accounting for 5.0% of the export scale (597.6 trillion won). This is equivalent to 7.8% of the exports of large companies in 2019 (382.5 trillion won).
■2.8% of R&D is higher than that of large companies
The ratio of R&D to sales of 100 billion venture companies was 2.8%, higher than 1.7% for large companies and 0.7% for SMEs. In addition, the average amount of R&D (62→6.4 billion won) and R&D ratio (2.7→2.8%) rose slightly from the previous year. In particular, in the case of the top five companies in R&D ratio to sales, the average ratio is about 27.8%, indicating that more than a quarter of sales are investing in R&D.
■One hundred billion venture companies own one for every four domestic industrial property rights
100 billion venture companies owned a total of 63,119 industrial property rights. It was an average of 102.3 cases per company, an increase of 3.4% from the previous year. Industrial property rights owned by 100 billion venture companies were 63,119 cases, accounting for 23.1% of domestic industrial property rights (27,3725 cases).
■244 companies received investment…The total amount was 1.9 trillion won
The proportion of 100 billion venture companies that received venture investment from start-up to 2019 was 40.3% (244), and the total investment amount of the invested companies was about 1.9 trillion won. The average investment amount of 244 companies that received investment was 760 billion won, three times the amount of venture investment per company of 2.66 billion won in 2019.
The operating profit ratio of 100 billion venture companies that received investment was more than twice as much as sales and the net profit ratio was about three times different than those that did not invest.
Related Articles
[CES 2021] 20 Small and Medium Venture Companies Awarded for Innovation
48% of venture companies majored in engineering, 67% of founders were engineering
Selected as 9 specialized evaluation agencies for venture business certification
Kakao Page and Kakao M merged… Launched’Kakao Entertainment’
In addition, 100 billion venture companies (244, 40.3%) that were invested were found to have superior employment and financial performance compared to those that did not. In particular, they were found to have more industrial property rights while devoted to R&D.
Park Yong-soon, director of venture innovation policy at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance, said, “We have confirmed that 100 billion venture companies are playing a supporting role in Korea’s economy in various aspects such as new job creation and sales. They will focus on creating a startup venture ecosystem that can grow into 100 billion venture companies and unicorn companies.”