[Alphabiz=(Chicago) Reporter Kim Jisun] Samsung Electronics' semiconductor exports are on alert. In particular, exports to Hong Kong and China turned out to be facing the worst.

According to the Alpha Biz report on the 18th, the volume of exports to Hong Kong and China, which account for a large portion of Samsung Electronics' semiconductor sales, has virtually stopped.

An official familiar with the internal situation at Samsung Electronics said, "I understand that supplies from Hong Kong and China, which make finished products using semiconductors, are hardly being digested," adding, "This is the aftermath of a sharp drop in demand for electronic devices due to the surge in COVID-19 infections in China."

The number of COVID-19 infections in China was about 670 million by the 17th. China recorded only 3.0% economic growth last year amid unfavorable internal and external factors such as the high-intensity "Zero-COVID" policy and the war in Ukraine.

China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that China's gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 121.2 trillion yuan (about 2,227 trillion won) in 2022, up 3.0 percent from a year earlier.

Samsung Semiconductor executives are said to have begun to come up with measures to overcome the current situation. However, it is known that it did not consider semiconductor production cuts in line with related situations.

Yoon Joo-ho, CEO of Umbrella Research, said, "The Chinese economic crunch caused by the explosion of infected people in the aftermath of the lifting of the COVID-19 blockade in China is like a natural disaster," adding, "Samsung Semiconductor's performance in the first half of this year depends on settling with COVID-19 after the Chinese New Year."

[ⓒ AlphaBIZ. 무단전재-재배포 금지]