The Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday released new figures that underscored the extent of Taiwan’s economic recovery, with industrial production climbing 35.2 percent last month, the sixth consecutive monthly increase.
Industrial production, however, was down 13.95 percent from January, because of fewer working days as a result of the nine-day Lunar New Year’s holiday, the ministry said.
“Surging demand for consumer electronics last month spurred strong sales of semiconductors, panels and electronic components,” Fung Tein-chi (馮田琪), deputy director-general of the ministry’s statistics department, said at a press briefing.
Manufacturing production — which accounts for 80 percent of total industrial output and includes products from the electronics, chemicals, food and textile sectors — grew 36.4 percent last month.
Output in the mining and quarrying industries dropped 8.15 percent, while the construction sector increased 44.68 percent.
Combined industrial output for the first two months increased 51.9 percent from last year, the department said.
The report came after the department last week reported a year-on-year increase in combined export orders of 52.9 percent in the first two months.
“Taiwan’s industrial production is the backbone of the island’s economy and its solid recovery has helped the island recover from its deep recession,” Tine Olsen, a Sydney-based economist at Moody’s Economy.com, wrote in a note released yesterday.
“The Lunar New Year celebrations in February slowed orders and production, so looking at the combined results from January and February provides a better overview of the direction of output,” he said.
Meanwhile, there was also an increase in local consumption last month as more people proved willing to spend, said a separate report released by the ministry yesterday.
Total sales for the wholesale, retail, food and beverage sectors hit NT$991.2 billion (US$30 billion), up 9.5 percent from last year but down 7.6 percent from January, the ministry’s statistics department said.
Combined sales for the first two months of the year increased 11.63 percent to NT$2.06 trillion, the department said.
The retail sector posted the highest jump in revenues with 17.5 percent to NT$284.5 billion, as consumers went on a shopping spree to usher in the New Year, Feng said.
The food and beverage sector posted year-on-year sales growth of 13.9 percent to NT$31 billion. In this sector, sales in restaurants rose 15.4 percent while those of drink stores were up 5.23 percent.
Revenue growth in the wholesale sector was the weakest at 6.3 percent or NT$675.7 billion. Sub-sectors such as clothing, home appliances, drugs and cosmetics, entertainment and education products all saw a slump, the department said.
Olsen noted that wholesale trade had gained support from higher industrial production and external demand. Therefore, “One downside risk is softer external demand, which would slow foreign trade and wholesale trade,” she said.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
TikTok abounds with viral videos accusing prestigious brands of secretly manufacturing luxury goods in China so they can be sold at cut prices. However, while these “revelations” are spurious, behind them lurks a well-oiled machine for selling counterfeit goods that is making the most of the confusion surrounding trade tariffs. Chinese content creators who portray themselves as workers or subcontractors in the luxury goods business claim that Beijing has lifted confidentiality clauses on local subcontractors as a way to respond to the huge hike in customs duties imposed on China by US President Donald Trump. They say this Chinese decision, of which Agence
RSS