IT export rises 37.5% on year in August

Korea's info-tech export volume rose 37.5 percent on year to $3.93 billion in August, marking the sixth consecutive monthly rise since March this year, the Ministry of Information and Communication said yesterday.

Imports in August reached $2.65 billion, resulting in a surplus of $1.28 billion, the ministry said.

Info-tech exports accounted for 28.1 percent of the country's total export estimated at $14 billion. The total trade surplus in August was $1.05 billion, suggesting that the info-tech sector continues to offer momentum to the country's export drive.

Ministry officials attributed the hike in info-tech item exports to the greater demand for mobile handsets and other wireless equipment, computer monitors, laptops and semiconductor products.

The year-on-year growth rate, however, reflects the poor export performance in August 2001, signaling that Korea has yet to go beyond a technical rebound in the high-tech sector.

In the January-August period, Korea shipped info-tech goods worth $28.8 billion, up 13.4 percent from the year-earlier period. The accumulated surplus in the info-tech sector amounted to $9.68 billion, surpassing the country's total surplus of $6.79 billion.

By item, Korea exported $5.48 billion worth of mobile handsets in the year as of the end of August, and $6.19 billion worth of info-tech gear (including laptops and LCD monitors).

Broadcasting equipment export during the January-August period amounted to $550 million, up 17.7 percent from the year-earlier period, thanks to stronger sales of satellite receivers.

Exports of semiconductors and other info-tech parts rose 4.2 percent on year to $14.29 billion. The unit price of 128Mb DRAM chips stood at $2.5 in May before dipping a bit to $2.2 in June. The price went up to $3.46 in July but lost its steam slightly to settle at $3.29 in August.

By country, Korea shipped $3.15 billion worth of info-tech goods to China in the year to the end of August, up $1.48 billion from $1.67 billion recorded a year earlier. Mobile handsets, wireless equipment, PCs and LCD monitors saw surging demand in China, spurred by the boom in the Chinese economy.

The largest info-tech export destination was the United States ($6.84 billion), followed by China, Hong Kong ($2.94 billion), Japan ($2.53 billion) and Taiwan ($2.14 billion).

The ministry said BSI (business survey index) for Korea's info-tech enterprises reached 93 in August, up from 81 a month earlier. The IT BSI for September and October is 120 and 124, respectively, suggesting that the export outlook will improve further in coming months, ministry officials said.