SEOUL — South Korean exports rose 10.0% in the first 20 days of March year-on-year as lockdowns across the world to prevent the coronavirus fueled demand for teleconferencing technology and components. Outbound shipments of semiconductors, the nation's major export, jumped 20.3% on-year, the Korea Customs Service data showed on Monday, better than a 15.4% rise seen a month earlier. "Demand from cloud computing firms have boosted sales of server chips, while an increase in telecommuting in the United States and China has also been a main drive to huge server demand," a trade ministry official told Reuters. "But exports in April and May will worsen," the official added, reflecting the significant fall in exporting contracts seen from February.

Source: International New York Times March 23, 2020 00:52 UTC