SEOUL: South Korea’s exports of information communication technology products rose slightly in August from a year earlier on a rise in shipments of key products, data showed Thursday.
Outbound shipments of ICT products amounted to $14.44 billion last month, up 0.7 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Imports also surged 11.4 percent on-year to $7.55 billion last month, with the country logging a surplus of $6.9 billion. The increase in ICT exports was attributed to the rising number of outbound shipments of mobile phones and semiconductors.
In August, exports of smartphones jumped 16.7 percent on-year to $2.42 billion, following the releases of the latest models such as the Galaxy Note 5 and Galaxy S6 Edge Plus by Samsung Electronics Co., the ministry said. Shipments of semiconductors gained 4 percent on-year to $5.45 billion on a rising demand for mobile chips.
On the other hand, exports of display panels fell 7.5 percent to $2.72 billion, mostly due to a rise in overseas production by local manufacturers, the ministry said.
By region, shipments to China, the world’s single largest market for South Korean products, inched up 0.3 percent on-year to $2.46 billion, with exports to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries gaining 9.2 percent to $1.08 billion.
Shipments to the United States moved up 8.1 percent on-year to $750 million, while shipments to the European Union sank 16.3 percent to $460 million. Meanwhile, the country’s overall exports fell 14.7 percent on-year to reach $39.33 billion in August.
