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S. Korea's trade surplus in IT sector hit new high in Nov.
SEOUL, Dec 04, 2012 (Xinhua via COMTEX) --
Trade surplus in the South Korea's
information technology (IT) industry hit a new high last month due
to solid demand for locally-made handsets and semiconductors, a
government report showed Wednesday.
Trade surplus in the IT sector reached a record monthly high of
7.86 billion U.S. dollars in November, up from 7.1 billion dollars
for October, according to the Ministry of Knowledge Economy. The
figure was larger than a surplus of 4.48 billion dollars for the
overall industry, indicating that the country's trade surplus was
mainly led by the upbeat momentum in the IT sector.
Exports expanded 12.2 percent on-year to 14.52 billion dollars
in November, staying above the 14-bilion-dollar mark for three
months in a row. The double-digit growth was the first in 22
months. Imports contracted 2.2 percent to 6.66 billion dollars
over the same period. "Despite the worsening external conditions
such as the eurozone fiscal crisis and the U.S. fiscal cliff
issue, the IT exports topped the 14-billion-dollar level for three
straight months, leading the overall industry exports," the
ministry said.
Strong demand for handsets and semiconductors led the double-
digit export growth. Handset exports jumped 23.5 percent on-year
to 2.32 billion dollars last month, marking the largest this year.
South Korea ranked first in terms of global market share of
smartphone for six straight quarters in the third quarter.
Exports of semiconductors expanded 12.9 percent to 4.6 billion
dollars last month, keeping a growth trend for the second
consecutive month. Shipments of memory chips declined 11.6 percent
due to weak global demand for PCs, but the reduction was offset by
an export of system chips that surged 33.4 percent on an on-year
basis.
Outbound shipments of display panels increased 6.6 percent to
2. 83 billion dollars over the cited period, keeping a growth
trend for five months in a row. The continued growth was
attributable to global price stabilization and rising demand from
Europe and China.
Exports of computer and computer-related products such as
printers and monitors advanced 11 percent to 740 million dollars
in November, logging the first double-digit rise in three months.
The global PC market stayed in recession mode, but a surge in
table PC exports helped achieve the higher growth.
TV exports tumbled 11.6 percent on-year to 480 million dollars
in November. Shipments of LCD TVs increased 7.8 percent thanks to
demand for premium models such as smart TVs, but TV component
exports plunged 16.1 percent amid the flagging global TV market.
By country, IT exports to China, including Hong Kong, jumped 21.8
percent to 7.55 billion dollars in November, with those to the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union
(EU) and Japan jumping 19.9 percent, 18.1 percent and 13.7 percent
respectively.
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