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SARS helps slow export-order growth to 14-month low

Export orders grew at their slowest pace in more than a year last month and factory production dropped as the SARS virus curbed spending across Asia.

Export orders -- indicative of actual shipments in one to three months -- rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier to $13.7 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement yesterday. That's less than April's 4.6 percent and the smallest gain since March 2002.

Industrial production fell 2.8 percent last month after declining a revised 0.1 percent in April. That was the biggest drop since February last year.

Consumers in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore stayed away from shopping malls and stores in recent months to avoid catching the SARS virus. That hurt sales of companies such as mobile-phone maker BenQ Corp (明基電通) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's biggest maker of boards that connect chips in personal computers.

The government last month predicted consumer spending would drop a record 1.1 percent this quarter and cut its export growth forecast for this year to 7 percent from 7.4 percent, citing the disease.

Exports make up about half of Taiwan's economy. China and Hong Kong together are the nation's No. 1 export market, accounting for about a third of shipments.

Taiwanese companies' export orders from Hong Kong rose 6.3 percent -- the smallest gain in 15 months -- to US$3 billion, yesterday's statement showed.

BenQ on June 6 reported last month's sales fell a 10th to NT$7.2 billion (US$208 million), having warned last month that second- quarter revenue would be 5 percent less than it originally projected because SARS damped demand in China, which accounts for about a fifth of its turnover.

Asustek earlier this month reported a 13 percent drop in sales last month to NT$5.2 billion.

Orders from the US rose 1.5 percent to US$3.9 billion. Orders from Europe rose 6.8 percent to US$2 billion and those from Japan fell 1.5 percent to US$1.5 billion.

Orders for electronic goods climbed 5.4 percent to US$2.6 billion and those for telecom equipment rose 3.9 percent to US$2.7 billion.
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