Euro crisis casts cloud over Korean firms there

Nearly nine out of 10 Korean companies operating in Europe are experiencing difficulties because of the persistent euro zone debt crisis, a poll showed yesterday.

According to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries, 87.6 percent of 90 European subsidiaries of Korean companies polled said the euro zone crisis is having an adverse impact on their operations.
Nearly 83 percent saw their revenues decrease during the fiscal crisis, with 65.6 percent finding it inevitable to revise their targets for the second half of the year.

Some 26.4 percent of the respondents said they are poised to shift into emergency mode to cope with the crisis, while 67.8 percent replied they are taking a wait-and-see position, according to the survey. The poll also showed 53.3 percent predict the crisis will lead to financial instability and the economic slowdown of all of Europe, while 35.6 percent expect the crisis to be limited to a few countries such as Greece and Spain.

Nearly 80 percent of the companies polled project the European economy to begin to rebound after the second half of 2013. Yonhap