Korea’s ICT Exports Fell for the Fourth Consecutive Month

The Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning and the Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy announced on February 15 that Korea’s information and communications technology (ICT) exports totaled US$11.86 billion last month, down 17.8% from a year ago and on the decline for four months in a row.

Almost all industry segments, ranging from mobile phone and semiconductor to display, computer and peripherals, were slow last month. The mobile phone exports, in particular, fell by 7.3% year on year to US$1.9 billion, showing a decline for the first time in six months.

Those of smart phones and components showed a negative growth, too. Specifically, the smart phone exports decreased by 11.1% from a year earlier to US$680 million while the component exports fell 4.6% or so to US$1.23 billion.

“The slowdown of the growth of the smart phone market as a whole and the expansion of the low-end smart phone market resulted in the decrease in exports along with the increasing presence of Chinese manufacturers such as Huawei,” the Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning explained.