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Technology Stocks : Amkor Technology Inc (AMKR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tech101 who wrote (112)	3/6/1999 1:28:00 AM
From: tech101	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1056

AMKR Contributs to Philippine Exports Rose 22% in Jan. Bloomberg News March 1, 1999, 9:21 p.m. PT Philippine Exports Rose 22% to $2.58 Bln in Jan. (Update1) Manila, March 2 (Bloomberg) -- Philippine merchandise exports increased 22 percent in January from a year ago, the fastest growth in ten months, as new factories built by computer chip and electronics makers such as Intel Corp. came on stream. The National Statistics Office said exports increased to $2.581 billion, from $2.115 billion in the same month a year earlier. Compared with December's $2.52 billion, exports rose 2.2 percent. ''Of the investments we generated in 1997, most are now fully operational and they are contributing to the growth of exports,'' said Ernie Santiago, executive director of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines Inc., or Seipi, a trade group. Exports of electronics, which make up more than half of the nation's overseas earnings, surged 38 percent to $1.481 billion in January from $1.072 billion a year ago. The biggest item in that category is semiconductors, which soared 53 percent to $1.059 billion. While overseas sales of Philippine electronics are still only half those of Malaysia, the industry's rapid expansion is underpinning the fastest export growth for any country in Asia. That's expected to help the Philippines be among the first countries in the region to emerge from recession this year. High-technology companies such as Intel, the world's no. 1 computer chipmaker, and semiconductor tester Amkor Technology Inc. invested $1.4 billion in 1997 and another $671 million in 1998 building new factories or expanding existing ones, Santiago said. For 1999, Seipi forecasts investments of $1 billion. Clothing Toppled Other electronics goods such as disk drives and printers, classified as input-output peripheral units, rose 19.6 percent to $188.05 million, dislodging clothing as the nation's No. 2 export item. Clothing rose 9 percent to $160.13 million, while ignition wiring sets for cars and aircraft rose 10.4 percent to $32.74 million. Furniture exports grew 4.6 percent to $33.4 million. The U.S. bought $757.84 million of Philippine goods in January, an increase of 5 percent from $721.58 million a year ago. Japan, which is mired in recession, bought $365.71 million of the nation's exports, a 0.4 percent decline. Shipments to Malaysia rose three-fold to $175.97 million, the quickest rise among the top 10 markets. Seipi forecasts that Philippine electronics exports will easily expand 20 percent this year as more factories are completed. Among those scheduled to start production this year are a hard-disk-drive plant of Japan's NEC Corp. and a mobile phone factory of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. ''The global market is softening but we're still growing,'' Santiago said. ''We are bullish about this year.'' messages.yahoo.com@m2.yahoo.com