Top 10 firms take up over 60 pct of S. Korea's exports in Q3 amid chip boom

The share of South Korea's top 10 exporters in the country's total outbound shipments rose sharply in the third quarter from a year earlier, data showed Tuesday, driven by strong demand for semiconductors and other technology products.

Exports by the top 10 companies accounted for 60.9 percent of total exports in the July-September period, up from 40.5 percent a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Ministry of Data and Statistics.

The country's top 100 exporters accounted for 79.4 percent of total exports in the third quarter, up from 67.9 percent a year earlier.

South Korea's total exports came to US$318.6 billion in the third quarter, an increase of 72.3 percent on-year.

By company size, exports by conglomerates more than doubled to $248.6 billion, while those by medium-sized companies rose 12.8 percent to $36.9 billion.

Exports by small enterprises also gained a solid 10.7 percent to $32.7 billion.

By industry, exports by the mining and manufacturing sector surged 82.8 percent to $291.5 billion.

Within the sector, the electronics industry, including chips, saw its exports soar 143.6 percent to $206 billion.

Exports by the wholesale and retail sector rose 5.1 percent to $20 billion.