The nation’s industrial production last month rose 0.88 percent year-on-year, supported by rising global demand for electronics components, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Last month’s industrial output rose for a second consecutive month, following a revised 1.9 percent increase in May, the ministry’s data showed.
Manufacturing output, which accounts for more than 90 percent of total industrial production, increased 1.58 percent last month from the same period a year ago, the ministry said.
“The growth last month mainly came from the output of electronics components, but does not mean the nation’s economy is recovering. We still need to observe other industries’ performance in the future,” Department of Statistics Senior Executive Officer Wang Shou-yu (王守玉) told a news conference.
Still, Wang said the ministry is optimistic about industrial output this month, forecasting an annual growth of less than 1 percent if semiconductor firms maintain their competitive advantages.
The ministry’s latest data showed that the output of the electronics components industry, the pillar of the manufacturing sector, last month rose 6.79 percent year-on-year, thanks to a 14.6 percent growth in semiconductor production amid demand for communications chips, she said.
In addition, the output of computers, electronics and optical components last month increased 1.69 percent, boosted by growth in the global “smart,” wearable device market, Wang said.
However, the output of the machinery and equipment industry last month declined 11.48 percent, hurt by weakening corporate investments due to a sluggish global economy, she said.
Separately, the ministry also released the latest statistics on the nation’s commercial sales, with mixed showings from the wholesale, retail and restaurant sectors.
The wholesale sector last month saw sales drop 2.5 percent annually to NT$805.8 billion (US$25.13 billion), due to the shrinking orders of notebook computers and LCD TVs from Japan, the ministry said.
The retail sector last month enjoyed a 0.5 percent increase in revenue to NT$335.8 billion, due to strong vehicle sales, while revenue in the restaurant sector rose 1.9 percent to NT$36.3 billion on the back of expansion by local chain operators, the ministry said.
Wang said the wholesale sector this month might continue to suffer from decreasing orders from Japan, despite the upcoming Ghost Festival. However, both the retail and restaurant sectors might see sales continue to rise in the summer, she added.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) last week recorded an increase in the number of shareholders to the highest in almost eight months, despite its share price falling 3.38 percent from the previous week, Taiwan Stock Exchange data released on Saturday showed. As of Friday, TSMC had 1.88 million shareholders, the most since the week of April 25 and an increase of 31,870 from the previous week, the data showed. The number of shareholders jumped despite a drop of NT$50 (US$1.59), or 3.38 percent, in TSMC’s share price from a week earlier to NT$1,430, as investors took profits from their earlier gains
In a high-security Shenzhen laboratory, Chinese scientists have built what Washington has spent years trying to prevent: a prototype of a machine capable of producing the cutting-edge semiconductor chips that power artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones and weapons central to Western military dominance, Reuters has learned. Completed early this year and undergoing testing, the prototype fills nearly an entire factory floor. It was built by a team of former engineers from Dutch semiconductor giant ASML who reverse-engineered the company’s extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, according to two people with knowledge of the project. EUV machines sit at the heart of a technological Cold
TAIWAN VALUE CHAIN: Foxtron is to fully own Luxgen following the transaction and it plans to launch a new electric model, the Foxtron Bria, in Taiwan next year Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) yesterday said that its board of directors approved the disposal of its electric vehicle (EV) unit, Luxgen Motor Co (納智捷汽車), to Foxtron Vehicle Technologies Co (鴻華先進) for NT$787.6 million (US$24.98 million). Foxtron, a half-half joint venture between Yulon affiliate Hua-Chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co (華創車電) and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), expects to wrap up the deal in the first quarter of next year. Foxtron would fully own Luxgen following the transaction, including five car distributing companies, outlets and all employees. The deal is subject to the approval of the Fair Trade Commission, Foxtron said. “Foxtron will be
INFLATION CONSIDERATION: The BOJ governor said that it would ‘keep making appropriate decisions’ and would adjust depending on the economy and prices The Bank of Japan (BOJ) yesterday raised its benchmark interest rate to the highest in 30 years and said more increases are in the pipeline if conditions allow, in a sign of growing conviction that it can attain the stable inflation target it has pursued for more than a decade. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda’s policy board increased the rate by 0.2 percentage points to 0.75 percent, in a unanimous decision, the bank said in a statement. The central bank cited the rising likelihood of its economic outlook being realized. The rate change was expected by all 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The
RSS