South Korea's exports of information and communication technology (ICT) products hit this year's monthly high in September thanks to robust sales of chips and handsets, a government report showed on Tuesday.

The ICT exports grew 1.6 percent from a year earlier to 15.9 billion U.S. dollars in September, the largest monthly figure in 2015, according to the South Korean Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning.

Imports in the tech sector gained 1.4 percent to 7.77 billion dollars, sending the September ICT trade surplus to 8.13 billion dollars. It was the first time this year for the ICT surplus to exceed 8 billion dollars.

Solid demand for locally-made semiconductors and handsets bolstered up overall tech exports despite sluggish market conditions. According to market researcher Gartner, the global ICT market was expected to slow down 4.9 percent this year.

For the first nine months of this year, shipments of handsets and semiconductors picked up more than 5 percent compared with the same period of last year. It was in a stark contrast to a 6.6 percent decline for overall exports in the same period.

Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics recently rolled out cheaper smartphone models amid fiercer competition with top-end devices like Apple's iPhone and lower-end outfits including Xiaomi. Samsung produces processors used not only for its own mobile devices, but for its rivals such as Apple.

In September alone, handset exports surged 34.1 percent compared with a year ago, with shipments of chips and digital TVs increasing 0.8 percent and 9.3 percent respectively.

Shipments of display panels tumbled 14.5 percent year-on-year last month, and exports of computers and related devices slumped 9 percent. Endi

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