April 25, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] South Korea’s exports of information and communications technology products rose in 14 months in November thanks to increased shipments of chips, displays and computers, government data showed on Dec. 15.

ICT exports reached US$14.8 billion last month, up 3.3 percent from $14.34 billion tallied a year ago, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The outbound shipment of such products had declined for 13 months straight since October 2015 when it edged down 1.6 percent from a year earlier.

The ministry said rising demand for South Korean semiconductors, displays and computers led the improvement in ICT exports, offsetting weak exports of mobile phones.

Imports of foreign ICT products also inched up 0.5 percent on-year to $8.8 billion last month, with the country logging a trade surplus of $6.72 billion in the sector.

Outbound shipments of semiconductors gained 11.6 percent on-year last month on the back of recovering demand for memory chips, according to the data.

The ministry said exports of displays increased 3.1 percent on-year in November after a 15-month losing streak helped by the rising demand for organic light-emitting diode TVs.

Overseas shipment of computer and computer equipment also jumped 15.2 percent on-year last month due to gains of South Korean-made solid-state drive in the global market, the ministry said.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)