S. Korea`s IT export growth rebounds sharply in September

SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's information technology (IT) exports
rebounded sharply in September from minus growth the previous month, fueled by
demand for mobile phones and display panels, a government report showed Sunday.

The report by the Ministry of Knowledge Economy said IT exports rose 9.7 percent
annually to US$12.19 billion last month from a decrease of 0.4 percent in August.
Imports rose 20.6 percent year-on-year to $6.72 billion for a surplus of $5.47
billion, the findings said. In the same one month period, the country's overall
trade deficit reached $1.90 billion.
"Exports of mobile phones have risen by double digits since October 2007 as local
manufacturers successfully carve out shares of the emerging third generation
market," a ministry official said, adding that overseas shipments of phones
jumped 39.8 percent. He added that display panel exports rose 27.8 percent
on-year.
The report, however, said an oversupply of semiconductors has caused prices to
fall, resulting in a 9.9 percent drop in exports for the key component.
September was the third month in a row that semiconductor exports have fallen
from the year before.
The ministry said exports to the United States jumped 40.1 percent, with numbers
for China, including Hong Kong, and the European Union gaining 5.6 percent and
4.7 percent, respectively. Shipments bound for Japan were down 4.8 percent
compared with a year earlier.
Government experts said that while the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
may hurt consumption and business investment worldwide, there is a chance that
the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays could get people to open their wallets in
the U.S., boosting the global economy.