[THE INVESTOR] Korean exports of information and communications technology products increased for the 11th month in a row in October, government data showed on Nov. 15.

A total of US$18.01 billion worth of ICT products were shipped overseas last month, up 20.6 percent from a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Ministry of Science and ICT.

October’s overseas shipments of ICT products posted a double-digit on-year increase and marked record-high monthly growth for October, the ministry said. The shipment of ICT products is the second highest tallied so far, trailing only the US$19.2 billion reached in September.

The ministry said rising overseas demand for Korean computer chips, display panels and computers remained strong, offsetting weak exports of mobile phones.

Exports of semiconductors soared 72.4 percent on-year to $9.6 billion in October to surpass the previous month‘s record-breaking high of US$9 billion. The strong back-to-back numbers were mainly fueled by a rise in the market price of NAND flash memory and overall rising demand, the ministry said.

By region, shipments to China and Vietnam surged 30.8 percent and 58.1 percent, respectively, on-year in the cited month.

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