In May this year, South Korea's semiconductor export prices rose at a record pace, with the export price index jumping 42.1% year-on-year, the fastest growth rate since records began in the 70s of the 20th century. Highlight the strong momentum of AI to drive South Korea's economic development.
According to the data, South Korea's chip exports in March this year were 11.7 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 35.7%, a five-month increase in succession, and the highest in a single month since June 2022. According to the latest research by IDC, with the increase in global demand for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, the semiconductor industry is expected to usher in a new wave of growth.
South Korea, the world's leading semiconductor producer, is home to Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, two of the world's largest memory chip producers. The performance of these two companies has a direct impact on South Korea's export data and economic performance. Data from May shows that South Korea's storage industry is rapidly rebounding from its previous downturn, which is closely linked to the growing global demand for AI technology. South Korea's finance minister, Choi Sang-mo, said South Korea was preparing a plan of more than 10 trillion won ($7.3 billion) to bolster the country's key semiconductor industry.
Figure: AI drove a record rise in South Korea's chip export prices in May
Of particular note is the surge in demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), a memory technology often used in conjunction with AI accelerators such as Nvidia's offerings. HBM can provide high-capacity and high-width storage solutions to meet the high computing power and storage requirements of the era of large AI models. With the rapid development of AI technology, HBM has become an important factor driving the price increase of South Korean chip exports.
According to the Korea Customs Administration, chip exports rose 36.6% in the first 10 days of June, signaling that double-digit growth is likely to continue throughout the month. If Samsung Electronics is able to secure orders from major chipmakers such as Nvidia and AMD, exports are expected to increase further. In addition, South Korea's chip inventory fell 33.7% year-on-year in April, the largest decline since the end of 2014, the fourth consecutive month of decline, and the supply of chips outstripped demand.
The Bank of Korea's report predicts that this round of chip demand growth is expected to continue at least until the first half of next year as the AI boom continues. As the global demand for AI technology continues to rise, South Korea's chip industry is expected to continue to be an important driver of the country's economic growth.
