Export concentration in top 10 firms rises sharply in Q2 amid chip boom
Containers bound for export are stacked at a port in Busan, Thursday. Yonhap
The proportion of Korea's top 10 exporters in the country's total outbound shipments in the second quarter sharply expanded from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, driven by the strong performance of technology products, including semiconductors.
Outbound shipments by the 10 businesses accounted for 55.3 percent of total exports in the April-June period, compared with 38.3 percent a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.
Over the cited period, the share accounted for by the country's top 100 exporters rose from 66.3 percent to 76.3 percent.
Total exports shot up 57.3 percent to $275.5 billion in the second quarter from the previous year.
The data ministry added that exports by conglomerates shot up 81.8 percent to $206 billion, reflecting the country's heavy reliance on big companies.
Exports by medium-sized businesses moved up 10.9 percent to $35.9 billion, with those by smaller-sized enterprises adding 13.1 percent to $32.7 billion.
By industry, exports by the mining and manufacturing sector jumped 64.9 percent to $247.5 billion, led by strong shipments from the electronics industry, including chips.
The report showed exports of the electronics industry more than doubled to $160 billion, taking up 58 percent of the total exports.
Exports by the wholesale and retail sector moved up 14.3 percent to $21 billion, the findings also showed.