GWANGJU < invest Korea

According to Yonhap News,

Gwangju and Jeollanam-do (Province) recorded USD 550 million of trade surpluses in January, according to Gwangju and Jeollanam-do division of Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

Gwangju and Jeollanam-do posted a year-on-year increase of 21.0% and 0.5% in exports and imports, respectively, in January, to USD 5.1 billion and USD 4.55 billion.

Gwangju saw the trade surplus of USD 920 million with a year-on-year increase of 20.6 percent and 21.2 percent in exports and imports, respectively, to USD 1.33 billion and USD 420 million.

By item, automobiles surged 17.9 percent, semiconductors 124.5 percent and flat displays 128.2 percent in exports.

By country, while the exports to the U.S., ASEAN and Japan rose 33.1 percent, 89.0 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, on the back of the global economic recovery, those to the EU and China declined 25.4 percent and 10.8 percent due to the looming fiscal crisis.

Jeollanam-do posted the USD 370 million of trade deficits with a year-on-year increase of 22.4 percent in exports and a year-on-year decline of 1.2 percent in imports.

By item, oil, synthetic resins, shipbuilding, steel plates and petrochemical products increased 4.4 percent, 39.7 percent, 121.5 percent, 4.7 percent and 53.6 percent in exports, while synthetic rubbers dropped 19.1 percent.

By country, exports to major countries including China, ASEAN, Japan, the U.S. and the EU surged 14.4 percent, 24.1 percent, 11.1 percent, 24.0 percent and 78.9 percent, respectively.

“With the major economies in the world showing signs of recovery, the growth of exports in Gwangju and Jeollanam-do hovered around 20 percent,” said an official of KITA.

Source: Yonhap News (Feb. 25, 2013)

** This is the translation of a Korean article.