South Korea’s GDP growth beats forecasts amid AI boom
Summary
South Korea’s GDP grew 1 percent in the July–September quarter from the previous quarter, beating the Bank of Korea’s 0.3 percent forecast. Strong exports of semiconductors and other goods, amid demand for AI-related chips, drove growth while private consumption declined.Key Facts
- GDP grew 3.4 percent year-on-year in the July–September quarter, according to advance estimates from the Bank of Korea.
- Exports rose 2.3 percent from the previous quarter, led by semiconductors, machinery and electrical equipment.
- Investment in facilities rose 4.1 percent, and investment in intellectual property increased 2.3 percent.
- Construction investment grew 0.7 percent, while private consumption fell 0.2 percent.
- South Korea’s finance minister projected 2026 growth of 3.4 to 3.6 percent, which would be the strongest expansion since 2011, excluding the pandemic period.
- SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics together hold about 80 percent of the global high-bandwidth memory market and 60 percent of the dynamic random-access memory market.
- South Korean exports in September rose 83.5 percent year-on-year to $120.9 billion, with chips accounting for nearly half of shipments.
Read the Full Article
This is a fact-based summary from The Actual News. Click below to read the complete story directly from the original source.
