South korea: South Korea's exports reached a record high in the third quarter, driven by robust shipments of semiconductors, government data showed Monday, amid a "super cycle" in the chip industry prompted by a boom in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. Outbound shipments for the July-September period came to USD 185 billion, up 6.5 percent from the same period last year, according to the Ministry of Data and Statistics. It marks the largest quarterly export figure since the ministry began compiling relevant data in 2010, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) reported.
According to Qatar News Agency, the increase also marks the second consecutive quarter of on-year growth, following a 2.1 percent rise in the second quarter. In late October, Seoul and Washington finalized a long-awaited agreement on the details of Seoul's USD 350 billion pledge made in exchange for lower US tariffs during summit talks between President Lee Jae Myung and US President Donald Trump.
The number of exporting companies rose 4.5 percent on-year to 69,808 in the third quarter. By product type, outbound shipment of capital goods, led by semiconductors, increased 11.2 percent on-year to USD 111 billion, the data showed. Consumer goods, led by automobiles, rose 4.9 percent on-year to USD 23.9 billion, ending four consecutive quarters of decline.
By company size, exports from large corporations advanced 5.1 percent on-year to USD 122.3 billion, the highest figure since the ministry began compiling such data in 2015. Medium-sized companies saw exports rise 7 percent on-year to a new quarterly high of USD 32.3 billion.