Taiwanese export orders increase on timing of holiday

Taiwan's export orders jumped in January due to the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday and growth last month was probably nil, the government said.

Orders, indicative of shipments in one to three months, climbed 17.26 percent from a year earlier after increasing 7.32 percent in December, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.

The government is forecasting a halving of export growth this year from last year on concerns about the US economy and stockpiles of liquid-crystal panels and semiconductors. The holiday's timing added five working days to January, boosting orders for the island's electronics from a year earlier.

"There's not expected to be any growth in February compared to a year earlier," Chang Yaw-tzong (張耀宗), the ministry's statistics chief said, citing new year distortions. "We will probably have a better idea of the outlook in March."

Demand for personal computers was strong in January, the ministry said.

Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), the world's largest maker of notebook computers, said sales rose by 52 percent from a year earlier. Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's largest maker of boards which connect computer components, reported that sales almost doubled.

Industrial production rose 4.76 percent in January after slipping a revised 1.9 percent in December.

Orders for electronics products rose 19.6 percent in January after climbing 8.36 percent in the previous month. Those for information technology products gained 22.68 percent after climbing 16.85 percent in December.

Orders from Hong Kong climbed 33.5 percent after rising 18.88 percent a month earlier.