With exports continuing to gather momentum in the first two months of the year, manufacturers expressed greater confidence in the economy over the near term, according to a report released by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER,
Among the respondents polled by the TIER, 57.4 percent said the economy would be in better shape for the next six months, up from 44.1 percent in January. Only 7.3 percent said the economy would get worse, down from 12.3 percent in the previous survey.
The remaining 35.3 percent said the situation would remain unchanged.
The results helped push the manufacturing climate index up to 105.32 points last month, the first rise in four months, Chen Miao (
As overseas trade for optical instruments, electronic parts and machinery continued to increase, exports in January and last month climbed 14 percent from a year earlier to US$32.31 billion, Chen said, citing figures provided by the Ministry of Finance.
Export orders also posted annual growth of 25.13 percent last month to US$20.26 billion, meaning export momentum in the first quarter remained strong, Chen said.
The services sector had a gloomier outlook given various negative factors, including shrinking real salaries and the consumer bad-loan problem, which was likely to dent private consumption, said Yang Chia-yen (楊家彥), a deputy director of TIER's research division.
The services sector's climate index decreased from 126.47 points in January to 125.11 last month, the report said.
The Council for Economic Planning and Development estimated late last year that debts accumulated from credit and cash-advance cards would trim consumption by NT$20 billion (US$614 million) this year, which would drag down the nation's economic growth by 0.15 percentage points.
Retailers have felt the pinch over the past two months, Richard Huang (
Department stores and convenience stores, the biggest contributors to the retail sector, reported lower sales last month. Department store sales fell 20 percent while convenience stores reported a 10 percent decline from a year ago.
Shrinking turnover was a result of the fewer working days recorded last month because of the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as lender efforts to start tightening credit, Huang said.
The institute remained bullish on the growth of private consumption this year, saying it would be stable, bolstered by improved employment figures.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last