1999 Economic Prospect Bleak

Korea's economic situation is expected to be bleak in 1999.
The Samsung Economic Research Institute, one of the most distinguished private economic research institutes in Korea, forecasted in a report titled 'Economic Prospect for 1999', released today, that exports would decrease by 8% to 122.5 billion dollars next year and domestic industrial activities would worsen.
The institute predicted that Korea's growth rate would fall 1.8% next year, compared to the world economy growth rate of 1.5%, due to the Japanese yen's sharp rise and the Chinese yuan's depreciation and Korea's restructuring delay.
The institute, however, estimated that Korea's growth rate will reach 2.2%, compared to the world economic growth rate of 2%, the following year, after the recovery of domestic demand and the completion of company and financial restructuring.
The institute's prospects for each industry were outlined in the report. The exports of semiconductors are expected to increase by 3.8% this year, as the situation between supply and demand improves. The auto industry will see domestic demand increase by 27.3% and exports by 7.1%. Steel industry prospects should be better after initially being 'gloomy'.
The production of consumer electronic goods will decrease by 10.9% and domestic demand also by 7.4% to 35.5 billion dollars. Information & Telecommunication are expected to have difficulties next year despite the prospect of 3.4% growth this year.
Furthermore, in case of the shipping, petrochemical and construction industries, the prospects were analysed as 'cloudy'.