[THE INVESTOR] Korea’s semiconductor exports in 2018 surpassed US$100 billion in mid-October on the back of strong global demand, the Industry Ministry said on Oct. 25.

The outbound shipments of memory chips hit the milestone on Oct. 16, already beating last year’s annual record of US$97.9 billion, the ministry said. 

It took 24 years to increase the amount by tenfold, with accumulated sales surpassing the US$1 trillion mark after the government began compiling related trade data in 1977.

Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world’s top two chipmakers, have posted robust earnings in 2018 on strong chip demand for mobile devices and servers, but the prospects going forward are not overly rosy amid a slowdown in growth next year.

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