Selasa, 07 Desember 2010

Korea's Booming IT Exports

As noted by a report in the Joongang Daily, Korea's IT exports continue to flourish, led by semiconductors, flat screens and smart phones.  As shown in the accompanying graphic (click to see a full-size version) November marked the sixth consecutive month that IT exports exceeded $13 billion.   The information presented in this article, based on reports from the Knowledge Economy Ministry, make it clear that the worldwide boom in smartphones and other mobile devices is perhaps the major factor behind the export growth.  After all, as discussed in earlier posts here, many of the key components in Apple's iPhone and iPad are manufactured in Korea.  So, in addition to the export of Korean smart phones per se, we must consider how many of the semiconductors and screens manufactured here are sold in order to provide hardware for the transition to mobile broadband around the globe.

It is equally apparent that the new finger-slim LED television sets are selling well around the world.  In addition to the export categories already mentioned, television components was among Korea's top ten exports in November.