저작권자 © Korea IT Times 무단전재 및 재배포 금지
According to forecasts by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy (MOCIE), Korea's major industries are expected to achieve substantial growth in 2006, aided by robust exports as well as the quick pace of recovery in corporate investment, domestic demand, and consumer spending.
By industry, information technology (IT), automobiles, general machinery, displays, and steel are forecast to maintain the strong growth momentum in 2006. Industries such as semiconductors, shipbuilding, and petrochemicals are expected to show modest growth.
The IT sector is expected to see doubledigit growth, fueled by increasing demand for digital gadgets such as camera phones, DMB mobile phones, and low-price laptop computers.
Overseas sales of automobiles are to grow by 6.6% year-on-year despite the strong won and high oil prices. On the domestic front, demand for cars is to increase by 11.6% this year.
In addition, with new facilities for flat panel displays beginning operations, production of displays is to climb by 7.9% in 2006. Outbound shipments of displays are likely to climb by 19.1% this year. By contrast, domestic demand is expected to decrease by 9.2%.
As for semiconductors, overseas sales are to grow by 16.3% due to steady global demand for NAND flash memory chips which are used in new applications like digital multimedia broadcasting (DMB). Meanwhile, production of heavy electrical equipment is forecast to make a rebound this year. With the recovery of facilities investment, production of heavy electrical equipments is to increase by 4.0% year-on-year in 2006, while exports and domestic demand are to rise by 15.8% and by 8.5%, respectively.