April 19, 2024

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[THE INVESTOR] Korean exports of information and communications technology products rose to a record high last year on upbeat sales of semiconductors, government data showed on Jan. 16.

A total of US$197.6 billion worth of ICT products were shipped overseas, up 21.6 percent from 2016, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The shipment of ICT products is the highest tallied so far and marked double-digit on-year growth for the first time since 2010, the ministry said.

The ministry said overseas demand for Korean computer chips, display panels and computers remained strong, offsetting weak exports of mobile phones.

Exports of semiconductors made by Asia‘s fourth-largest economy soared 60.2 percent on-year to US$99.6 billion last year, led by the rise in market prices for NAND flash memory chips.

Overseas sales of displays increased 7.8 percent on-year to US$30.2 billion in 2017 on the back of consistent demand for OLED TVs and LCD parts.

Shipments of computers and computer equipment moved up 10 percent on-year last year thanks to demand for solid-state drives, the ministry said.

Combined overseas sales of mobile handsets and parts, however, dropped 28.8 percent on-year, as the global smartphone market becomes more competitive, the latest findings showed.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)