South Korea’s export growth continued last month, led by demand for semiconductors, boosting the country’s trade balance to the biggest surplus since 2020 and supporting optimism among policymakers for better-than-expected economic expansion this year.
Shipments that reflect working-day differences increased 9.2 percent from a year earlier, easing from 11.3 percent growth from April, data released by the South’s Korea Customs Service on Saturday said.
Overall imports decreased by 2 percent, while the country’s surplus increased to US$4.96 billion, the largest in 41 months.
Photo: Bloomberg
South Korea has seen gains in the trade balance for a full year, the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.
The country’s outbound shipments to China rose 8 percent from a year earlier, while exports to the US increased 15.6 percent, the ministry said.
South Korean industries are having to navigate geopolitical risks stemming from the rivalry between China and the US. China is the nation’s biggest trading partner, while the US provides security guarantees.
The Bank of Korea last month revised its forecast for economic growth sharply higher as export momentum remained robust on the back of demand for products such as semiconductors and automobiles. Chip sales have been particularly healthy, leading gains in overall sales overseas from late last year.
South Korean exports of chips jumped 54.5 percent from a year earlier last month, while those of displays climbed 15.8 percent.
Overseas shipments of solid-state drives used in computers rose 48.4 percent, the ministry said.
While semiconductor exports rose for a seventh month, the pace of increase moderated slightly from 56.1 percent in April.
South Korea and some of its neighbors in Asia occupy positions at the high end of the overall hierarchy of technology supply chains and are set to benefit further from rising demand for electronics needed to advance artificial intelligence and data processing in major economies such as the US.
“Recent data suggest the strength in Asian exports may still have some way to go,” Oxford Economics Ltd economist Sheana Yue (余惠悅) said. “This will, in large part, be due to the chip upcycle.”
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
REGIONAL COMPETITION: Over the past few years the Philippines has lost ground to neighbors such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia, a Philippine official said The Philippines is trying to enlist Taiwanese chip giants to expand in semiconductors, a bid to catch up with its neighbors who are emerging as significant suppliers in the industry. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) are among companies the Philippines is reaching out to as it seeks equipment and expertise to build out chip fabrication operations, said Dan Lachica, head of the Southeast Asian country’s main electronics industry group, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation Inc (SEIPI). The association is working with Philippine officials in Taiwan to talk with potential
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98