Korea’s ICT exports marked a negative year-on-year growth of 3.9 percent last month, the first decline in three months since April.
The Ministry of Science, ICT, and Future Planning announced on August 11 that the nation’s ICT shipments amounted to US$13.7 billion last month, down 3.9 percent from a year ago, with the nation’s ICT imports estimated at $7.5 billion, up 5.8 percent year on year. The nation’s ICT trade surplus reached $6.1 billion.
For the first quarter of this year, the nation’s ICT shipments suffered a negative growth of 0.3 percent. This figure, however, is relatively strong compared to that of other major countries. During the same period, the United States reported a negative year-on-year growth of 1.1 percent in ICT exports, while Japan, Germany, and Britain also recorded a negative growth of 3.4 percent, 10.6 percent and 11.7 percent, respectively. In contrast, China enjoyed a 2.3-percent positive growth.
The external environment surrounding ITC exports continue to deteriorate, with the global ICT trade likely to mark a negative growth this year. Gartner predicted that the world’s ICT exports would decline by 1.3 percent in the first quarter and 5.5 percent in the second quarter of this year.
