ICT Trade
Korea’s trade surplus in the information and communications technology (ICT) sector surged to record highs from January to November this year.
The Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning (MSIP) announced on December 10 that the nation’s trade surplus in the ICT sector reached the highest annual figure at US$81.9 billion during the cited period. This year’s figure exceeded the prior record of US$72.2 billion in 2010.
According to MSIP, ICT exports amounted to US$14.66 billion last month, a 1% year-on-year increase, leading to its trade surplus of US$7.8 billion, well above the number for the overall trade surplus in all total industries (US$4.8 billion). It shows that the ICT sector is the top contributor to the country’s growing exports.
In November, outbound shipments to China (Hong Kong included) and the ASEAN countries continued to rise, and exports of mobile phones, semiconductors, and digital TVs showed an upward trend.
By country, exports to China gained 1.3% year-on-year to hit US$7.64 billion, while those to ASEAN nations posted 0.9% growth with US$1.65 billion.
By category, semiconductor exports climbed 8.1% with US$4.97 billion, and those of cell phones jumped 10.4% (US$2.57 billion). Outbound shipments to digital TVs also edged up 19.8% to US$570 million.
On the other hand, imports of ICT goods totaled US$6.82 billion last month, up 2.2% from a year ago. Inbound shipments from Japan, China, and Taiwan decreased, whereas those from the US, the ASEAN countries, and the EU rose. To be specific, imports from Japan recorded US$1.06 billion (down 7.7%), followed by US$2.23 billion from China (a 4.1% drop), and US$770 million from Taiwan (down 10.4%). In contrast, those from the US went up 4.5% to log US$660 million, followed by 7.9% growth in imports from the ASEAN countries (US$1.06 billion), and a 5.5% rise from the EU (US$540 million).
MSIP predicted that annual ICT exports would surpass US$160 billion this year for the first time, helped by the upswing in exports of smartphones and semiconductors, despite the slowdown in global IT market growth.