S Korea chip exports lead gains fueling economy – 台北時報
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.”
LOOKING AHEAD: AI-powered cloud computing devices and automotive applications would be a ‘natural shift’ for MediaTek, given its portfolio and products, its CEO said MediaTek Inc (聯發科), the world’s biggest mobile phone chip supplier, yesterday said application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) for artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled data centers and auto chips would be its dual revenue growth engines in next decade. The Hsinchu-based chip designer made the remarks in response to a shareholder’s question about the company’s next growth drivers, given that the smartphone market is reaching a plateau. “5G, AI and automotive are the areas with potential growth in next 10 years. AI covers a wide range of applications, from cloud to edge devices,” company chairman Tsai Ming-kai (蔡明介) said during an annual general meeting yesterday. “MediaTek
Taipei Times: Uber Eats previously worked with the Taiwan Delivery Industry Union Alliance to discuss enhancing the rights of delivery partners based on three principles, and proposed a regulatory framework that include these key points. Could you elaborate on these principles and points? Tony West: Uber is the largest source of flexible work in the world. One of the things that we have talked about consistently is that Uber ought to stand for a different approach when it comes to flexible work. The traditional framework is that either you are employees with benefits and protections, or you are an independent operator or
Malaysia is targeting at least 500 billion ringgit (US$107 billion) in investment for its semiconductor industry, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said yesterday, as the Southeast Asian country looks to position itself as a global manufacturing hub. Malaysia is a major player in the semiconductor industry, accounting for 13 percent of global testing and packaging. It has attracted multibillion-dollar investments from leading firms in recent years, including Intel Corp and Infineon Technologies AG. Anwar said the investment being sought would be for integrated circuit design, advanced packaging and manufacturing equipment for semiconductor chips. Malaysia also wants to establish at least 10 local companies in
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become a second economic pillar for Taiwan, after the booming semiconductor industry, National Development Council (NDC) Minister Paul Liu (劉鏡清) told an informal meeting with media on Tuesday. “Taiwan doesn’t just have one ’huguo shenshan’ (sacred mountain protecting the nation), there is now also a second,” Liu said. Taiwan’s powerful semiconductor industry is often referred to as a “huguo shenshan” protecting it because the country produces more than 90 percent of the world’s high-end chips. Noting that Taiwan is already a global AI hub with a significant global AI server market share, the entrepreneur-turned minister said he hopes Taiwan’s