Seoul, April 14 (IANS) South Korea’s exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products more than doubled in March from a year earlier, driven by strong semiconductor demand amid the global artificial intelligence (AI) boom, government data showed on Tuesday.

Outbound ICT shipments reached US$43.51 billion last month, up from $20.52 billion a year earlier, according to the data from the Ministry of Science and ICT, reports Yonhap news agency.

This marks the first time that monthly ICT exports have exceeded $40 billion for the month of March.

Imports rose 32.2 percent on-year to $16.15 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of $27.36 billion in the sector.

“ICT exports accounted for 50.5 percent of the country’s total exports of $86.13 billion last month, reaffirming the sector’s status as a core growth engine of the South Korean economy,” the ministry said in a release.

By product, semiconductor exports surged 151 percent to $32.84 billion from $13.06 billion a year earlier, supported by robust demand from global AI data centres.

Smartphone exports jumped 57 percent on-year to $1.54 billion in March, driven by strong sales of newly launched premium models.

Shipments of computers and related equipment nearly tripled to $3.59 billion from $1.31 billion, reflecting rising demand for solid-state drives (SSDs) used in AI data centres.

In contrast, exports of display panels fell 9.3 percent to $1.49 billion, weighed down by weak demand for organic light-emitting diode (OLED) products in the IT sector.

By destination, exports to the United States nearly tripled to $8 billion from $2.77 billion a year earlier, led by strong sales of chips, smartphones and computers.

Exports to China, including Hong Kong, more than doubled to $17.66 billion from $7.33 billion, also driven primarily by semiconductor demand.

Meanwhile, the South Korean won strengthened against the US dollar on Tuesday amid expectations that Washington and Tehran may resume talks following their recent ceasefire. The won opened at 1,478.8 per dollar, up 10.5 won from the previous session’s close.

The gain came after foreign media reported that the United States and Iran could resume peace talks after their round of negotiations in Islamabad over the weekend ended without a breakthrough.

—IANS

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