ID :
202014
Thu, 08/18/2011 - 05:29
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/202014
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's IT exports to be hurt by U.S. financial turmoil: gov't
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's information technology (IT) industry will be most affected by the latest financial trouble caused by the U.S. debt downgrade as its exports will likely drop due to dwindling demand in the American market, the government said Thursday.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy, however, said the country will still be able to achieve its goal of reaching US$1 trillion in trade for the first time in its history.
"Unlike in the first half of the year when the country's exports steadily grew, there are many uncertainties, such as the global financial crisis, that may lead to a slowdown of the country's exports growth," the ministry said. "But the effect of the financial crisis will be different for each industrial sector."
Such an assessment came as the government sought ways to minimize the impact from the latest global financial crisis on the country's exports in a weekly economic meeting chaired by President Lee Myung-bak.
The ministry said the country's IT exports will be hit the hardest as shipments of expensive smartphones to the United States account for a large part of IT exports.
The latest troubles in the global financial market were sparked when Standard and Poor's Ratings Services cut the credit rating of U.S. bonds by a notch from the highest "AAA" to "AA+" earlier this month.
Outbound shipments of the country's other key export items, such as automobiles, will continue to grow in the remainder of the year on growing demand in newly emerging economies, the ministry said.
The impact on the country's petrochemical industry will especially be minimal as most of its overseas markets are in Asia. Shipments of petroleum products nearly doubled from a year earlier in July, the ministry said earlier.
South Korea seeks to become the world's ninth nation to have ever reached a trade volume of over $1 trillion this year. Its exports rose 24.4 percent on-year to $275.4 billion in the January-June period with its imports gaining 26.6 percent to $258 billion.
The Ministry of Knowledge Economy, however, said the country will still be able to achieve its goal of reaching US$1 trillion in trade for the first time in its history.
"Unlike in the first half of the year when the country's exports steadily grew, there are many uncertainties, such as the global financial crisis, that may lead to a slowdown of the country's exports growth," the ministry said. "But the effect of the financial crisis will be different for each industrial sector."
Such an assessment came as the government sought ways to minimize the impact from the latest global financial crisis on the country's exports in a weekly economic meeting chaired by President Lee Myung-bak.
The ministry said the country's IT exports will be hit the hardest as shipments of expensive smartphones to the United States account for a large part of IT exports.
The latest troubles in the global financial market were sparked when Standard and Poor's Ratings Services cut the credit rating of U.S. bonds by a notch from the highest "AAA" to "AA+" earlier this month.
Outbound shipments of the country's other key export items, such as automobiles, will continue to grow in the remainder of the year on growing demand in newly emerging economies, the ministry said.
The impact on the country's petrochemical industry will especially be minimal as most of its overseas markets are in Asia. Shipments of petroleum products nearly doubled from a year earlier in July, the ministry said earlier.
South Korea seeks to become the world's ninth nation to have ever reached a trade volume of over $1 trillion this year. Its exports rose 24.4 percent on-year to $275.4 billion in the January-June period with its imports gaining 26.6 percent to $258 billion.
