Seoul [South Korea], February 15: South Korea's export of information and communication technology (ICT) products rose for the third straight month due to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, government data showed Thursday.
The ICT products shipment soared 25.1 percent over the year to 16.35 billion U.S. dollars in January after expanding 7.5 percent in November and 8.1 percent in December, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
Semiconductor export surged 53.0 percent to 9.41 billion dollars last month, keeping a double-digit growth for the third consecutive month.
Display panel shipment grew 2.6 percent to 1.5 billion dollars on robust demand for panels used for TVs and laptops, but mobile phone export dropped 20.1 percent to 1.1 billion dollars.
Shipment for computers and peripherals spiked 33.6 percent to 840 million dollars, and communications equipment export advanced 27.6 percent to 200 million dollars.
Import for ICT products shrank 3.2 percent from a year earlier to 11.85 billion dollars in January, sending the trade surplus in the ICT industry to 4.5 billion dollars.
Import for chips and display panels went up last month, while import for mobile phones and computers dwindled in double digits.
Source: Xinhua