[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s exports of rechargeable batteries reached a record high in 2016, customs data showed on May 26.

Outbound shipments of accumulators, such as lithium-ion batteries amounted to a record US$4.4 billion in 2016, up 11.6 percent from US$3.94 billion a year earlier, according to the data by the Korea Customs Service.

For the first three months of the year, secondary battery exports continued to post solid gains, soaring 22.9 percent on-year to US$1.24 billion.

Exports of Korea-made lithium-ion batteries, used for smartphones and tablets, jumped 14.7 percent on-year to US$2.33 billion last year, accounting for 52.9 percent of the total shipments.

By country, China was the biggest buyer of Korean secondary cell batteries, purchasing US$830 million last year, taking up 18.9 percent of the total exports, followed by Germany with US$544 million and the US with US$524 million.

By Alex Lee and newswires (alexlee@heraldcorp.com)