[THE INVESTOR]  South Korea’s exports of mobile handsets to China dropped more than 27 percent in the first eight months on-year, according to a report on Sept. 23.

Shipment of mobile handsets and related parts to the neighboring country reached US$2.74 billion in the January-August period, down 27.2 percent from the same period last year, according to the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion.

The portion against overall handset exports falling to 16.7 percent from 21.2 percent in the period,

“The global smartphone market is entering a saturation point due to increased penetration in the advanced markets and reduced demand for replacement in emerging markets,” said the report. “Chinese brands such as Huawei, Oppo and Vivo are rapidly expanding their presence in the local market.”

Shipments to Hong Kong surged 14.9 percent on-year to reach $2.98 billion over the cited period. When shipments to the two markets are combined, exports also sank 10 percent on-year, it said.

South Korean handset makers’ overall exports declined by a small margin of 7.8 percent on-year to $16.37 billion over the cited period, as shipments to the US soared 19.9 percent to $4.97 billion.

(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)