Economics
Asia Electronics Sector Booms, Bucking Global Economic Slump
- Medical buying, social-distancing tech help boost sector
- Sustainable boost depends on resurgence of consumer demand
Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
This article is for subscribers only.
Global trade data in the Covid-19 era has been generally abysmal, but look a little closer and the electronics sector that fires Asia’s trade engines could be headed for a pretty good year.
In South Korea, semiconductor exports rose in May and imports of equipment used in producing semiconductors surged 168%, trade ministry data show. Taiwan’s electronic-component exports, which include chips, grew 13.2% in May to $10.2 billion, even as total exports fell 2% from a year earlier.