With more signs emerging of a strengthening economy -- including improving business and consumer confidence -- companies are expecting to report better-than-expected annual sales this year and will therefore offer year-end bonuses to employees that will be slightly higher than last year.
Following the end of a three-year slump in the semiconductor industry, local chipmakers are increasing their capital expenditures to meet market demand.
Meanwhile, local banks have improved the quality of their assets, in part due to a cyclical upturn in economic growth and also due to improved risk management.
The nation's highest economic planning agency, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), said earlier this month that it has set its 2004 target for GDP growth at 5 percent, a upward revision from the 4.72 percent target set in October and 3.15 percent in the previous year.
Against this backdrop, employees this year are expected to receive bigger and fatter paychecks before the Lunar New Year, with the auto sector leading a survey by the Taipei Times, as it may offer employees a 5 month's salary bonus, while some state-run enterprises and telecom operators said they may offer more than 4 month's salary bonuses, followed by the banking and retail sectors, with an average 2 month's salary bonus.
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