[Interview] Forecast of Maeng Piljae, Chairman of Bio-Healthcare Association
"Daejeon will become a prominent city drawing worldwide attention by showing them its bio-healthcare sector in full bloom."

"The total market capitalization of Bio-Healthcare Association's member companies stands at over 5 trillion KRW, including 12 publicly-traded companies. At this current trend, the value of our member companies is expected to increase more than tenfold in five years. Daejeon is taking an unprecedented step toward becoming a city that draws worldwide attention." 
 
This is the outlook from Maeng Piljae, chairman of Bio-Healthcare Association that serves as a hub of the biotech cluster in Daejeon. His view is based on a series of reports regarding member companies' advancement into overseas markets. Above that, "deregulation on permits/licenses in the overseas markets" to be conducted in five years strengthens the reliability of his forecast.  
 
​Mr. Maeng emphasized that Daejeon's growth potential as a city of bio-health care is sufficient.
​Mr. Maeng emphasized that Daejeon's growth potential as a city of bio-health care is sufficient.
Mr. Maeng takes to heart the vision of "Daejeon as a city unprecedented in the bio-healthcare sector," attracting the eyes of the whole world. His ambition is to draw a young talented workforce from all over the nation to start up bio-related businesses in Daejeon and create an ecosystem for the collective intelligence of experts who share a great cause, contributing to the "bio-healthcare sector in full bloom." 
 
He said that "in provincial regions — not the metropolitan area — technology-intensive start-ups are taking the lead in the growth of the bio-healthcare industry, regarded as a new growth engine in the future" and "such sophisticated technologies allow them to hire many people even in a relatively small space. It is very significant for a provincial area, as it has built up an industry based on research-oriented high technologies."
 
Mr. Maeng also proudly stated, "Ever since I created Bio-Healthcare Association, our member companies have joined their forces to build a brand value together instead of playing solo" and "some investors even said that a company is reliable if it is a member of BioHA." 
 
◆ Member companies have successfully entered into "cooperation"···closely connected and collaborative." 

Such voluntary networks among biotech start-ups in Daejeon started in 1996 when fifteen biotech firms gathered in one location, a site located in Jeonmin-dong, Yuseong-gu offered by a company, Inbionet. That site is today's Daedeok Valley Campus. 
 
The fifteen firms spontaneously created a network called "Daedeok Bio-community" to share information and create positive synergistic effects. Since then, biotech firms have interacted and collaborated closely, contributing to the birth of such a robust biotech cluster.
 
Afterward, Bio-Healthcare Association was born as a legal entity at the end of 2015. Founded with the vision becoming a global hub in the bio-healthcare industry, the Association's primary mission is to improve the competitiveness of member companies and promote a synergistic win-win strategy, including R&BD (Research and Business Development) through networking.  
 
Question after question has relentlessly emerged to solidify this bio-ecosystem since the Association's establishment. Major players related to bio-healthcare, including CEOs have built the ecosystem by exploring fundamental questions such as "What has to be done to turn Daejeon into a hub city among biotech clusters?" and "How can we make young entrepreneurs want to start up a business in Daejeon?" 
 

The BHA (Bio Health Care Association) is currently operating as a solid foundation for the bio industry in Daejeon.
The BHA (Bio Health Care Association) is currently operating as a solid foundation for the bio industry in Daejeon.
Currently, the Association has 53 biotech firms as its members. Among them, nine are listed on KOSDAQ, three on KONEX, and one on the Canadian trade market. More than 40 firms are preparing to go public. Besides these biotech firms, the Association also includes 16 organizations such as state-funded research institutes, large hospitals, investment firms, securities firms, financial institutes and media, that are ready to cooperate. The Association has a membership of more than 150 people. 
 
Mr. Maeng said that "I am working hard with the intent to provide the help that the nation's bio-healthcare sector needs for sustained growth. Our member companies are cooperating" and "even providing underlying information to the national or local governments when they seek ideas for policy-making."
 
◆ "Night of Bio-workforce," "Investment Forum" and "Tour to Member Companies" ··· "Culture" established in this bio-community
 
Since the founding of the Association, these biotech firms have vigorously engaged in community activities such as forums, seminars and workshops. In particular, since 2016, large-sized investment firms like Mirea Asset Daewoo and Samsung Securities have reached out to the Association first. Cooperation with investors has also been on the right track. 
 
Besides that, a new culture has arrived in the bio-community. Each year, a year-end forum, including a cultural event "Night of Bio-workforce," is held. The workforce engaged in the bio-healthcare field recognize it as an indispensable year-end event where they look back on issues of the sector and make a resolution for the following year.    
 
Member companies even chipped in and created an "investment cooperative" to nurture young start-ups. The No. 1 Fund created last year amounts to 1 billion KRW, followed by No. 2 Fund worth 2.4 billion KRW that have been invested in biotech firms. This year, they have also made investments like 800 million KRW (No. 3 Fund) and 2.1 billion KRW (No. 4 Fund). Currently, they are working on No.5 Fund. 
 
"Investment Forums" are one of the primary activities of the Association last year. At the forum, two companies presented an IR (investor relations) model for investors. Last year alone, ten forums were held. Even the first investment forum gathered over 50 investors. 
 
This year, Mr. Maeng is playing a card "tour to member companies." The main purpose of such a tour is to take a first-hand look at what research member companies have engaged in, what issues and difficulties they have, and how they cooperate and collaborate seeking breakthroughs.  
 
He also explained, "These new bio-cultures in Daejeon will lay the essential foundations for the growth of bio-industry. Our member companies have accumulated know-how and technologies from their R&D activities for more than ten years on average. Recently, their technologies and capabilities are being noticed."
 
Mr. Maeng expressed his hopes, saying, "I havee watched these member companies closely for a long time. I think there is no overvalued company. Rather, some seem to be undervalued, but I believe they will also be properly apprized soon after some weeds are removed" and "Daejeon will become a model city of the bio-industry. I hope such a spontaneously-created biotech cluster will elevate the region's capacity to one step higher."
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