In April this year, exports of the information and communications technology (ICT) industry surpassed $42.7 billion, with export value up 125.9% from a year earlier. It is the highest ICT export growth rate on record.
According to the April ICT trade trends released on the 15th by the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, last month's ICT exports totaled $42.71 billion.
It was the second-highest export value on record, following March at $43.46 billion.
By item, April ICT exports showed that semiconductors logged $31.91 billion (up 173.3% from a year earlier) on continued excess demand for memory due to expanded investment in artificial intelligence (AI) servers and rising memory prices.
Computers and peripherals topped $4 billion in exports for the first time ever, driven by expanding demand and higher unit prices for semiconductor-based solid-state drives (SSD) for AI servers. They came in at $4.26 billion, with export value up 430.0% from a year earlier.
Mobile phones recorded $1.36 billion in exports (up 14.0% from a year earlier), helped by increased exports of finished goods and strong sales of high value-added parts such as camera modules.
Telecommunications equipment rebounded for the first time in three months on strong demand for shipments to Vietnam and Japan, recording $220 million, up 9.9%.
In contrast, displays posted $1.44 billion in exports, down 5.3% from a year earlier, as demand from downstream corporations slowed due to factors such as higher cost burdens stemming from rising semiconductor prices.
In April, ICT exports accounted for 49.7% of the nation's total exports ($85.89 billion). The Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) said, "The ICT industry has once again proven to be a key sector driving our economy's exports."