Paperwork is the real barrier to overseas expansion as translation and legalisation steps pile up Government support programmes are in place, but the certification chain for the dozen or so documents needed to open a branch or subsidiary is what delays the schedule.

Apostille Korea said it provides a document agency solution handling translation, notarisation and legalisation for companies preparing to expand abroad. A document issued in one country can only be used in another after translation, notarisation and legalisation, and corporate staff often encounter that chain for the first time.

The gap between support and practice

The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning is promoting the 2017 smart content overseas expansion support project to nurture companies in the smart content industry, part of a broader government push for overseas expansion. The ministry has said it will build a base for continued growth by supporting strong domestic small and medium companies to become globally competitive. Other policy bodies are likewise offering benefits such as the removal of related regulations and tax reductions for companies going abroad. Encouraged by these measures many companies are working towards overseas expansion, yet in practice the complex document requirements for setting up foreign branches and subsidiaries hold them back. Specialists point out that the document requirements need to be put in order in advance.

The document chain for a branch in Vietnam

In April a mid-sized construction company recognised for its civil engineering capability drew up a plan to establish a branch in Vietnam. The staff member who began by checking the document requirements was confronted with an unfamiliar chain running from the issuance of 10 to 15 supporting documents through translation, notarisation and authentication by the foreign ministry and the embassy. To open a branch in Vietnam, 10 to 15 documents including the corporate registry extract, the business registration certificate, the construction business licence, the articles of incorporation and the financial statements must first be translated by a certified translator. The documents are then notarised by a lawyer, confirmed by the foreign ministry in Korea, and finally given consular legalisation by the Vietnamese embassy in Korea. The same pattern applies in most countries other than Vietnam, and it appears not only in branch establishment but across corporate work such as hiring, business trips, staff dispatch, overseas purchasing and exports. As a result, even where the will to expand and the government support both exist, inefficiency at this practical stage continues to delay or derail expansion plans.

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Source: CCTV · 2017-05-15