S.Korea posts 2nd-highest ICT exports figure in March

SEOUL, April 18 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's exports of information and communications technology (ICT) products posted the second-biggest figure in March, contributing to the economy's continued export growth, a government report showed Wednesday.

The ICT exports advanced 18.6 percent from a year earlier to 19.14 billion U.S. dollars in March, marking the biggest except for the record high of 19.25 billion dollars tallied in September last year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

Imports in the ICT sector stood at 9.06 billion dollars in March, sending the ICT trade surplus to 10.08 billion dollars.

The ICT exports kept a double-digit expansion for 16 months since December 2016 due mainly to strong demand for locally-made semiconductors, of which exports jumped 44.3 percent to 10.98 billion dollars.

Outbound shipments of computer and peripherals surged 61.1 percent to 1.1 billion dollars last month, but mobile phone exports tumbled 17.8 percent to 1.37 billion dollars as local manufacturers increased production in overseas factories.

Display panel shipments declined 14.7 percent to 2.2 billion dollars in the cited period.

ICT exports to China, South Korea's biggest trading partner, jumped 27.5 percent to 10.33 billion dollars, with those to the United States and Vietnam recording a double-digit increase. Enditem