[THE INVESTOR] Exports of semiconductors produced by Korean firms reached a record high last year on soaring prices and firm demand, customs data showed on March 23.

The outbound shipment of chips reached US$99.71 billion last year, sharply up 60.2 percent from the US$62.23 billion tallied a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Korea Customs Service.

The 2017 tally marks the highest-ever for any single item, the data showed.

Last year’s sharp growth in exports was led by high-end and high-capacity memory chips.

Exports of chips to China jumped 62.4 percent on-year to reach US$39.35 billion last year, making the country the No.1 buyer of South Korean chips.

Vietnam also bought US$9.26 billion worth of chips produced by Korean firms, more than doubling the amount from a year earlier, the data showed.

The customs office expects exports of chips to continue rising on the back of firm demand this year.

In the first two months of 2018, chip exports soared 47.3 percent on-year to reach $19.01 billion, the data showed.

By Song Seung-hyun and newswires (ssh@heraldcorp.com)