The nation is expected to have recorded a year-on-year increase in monthly export orders for the second consecutive month last month, largely on the back of the launch of Apple Inc’s latest iPhone models, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said on Saturday.
The US consumer electronics giant unveiled the 4.7-inch iPhone 7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 7 Plus on Sept. 7, and global sales began on Sept. 16.
The ministry said the new iPhone range has been well received by the market, as a result of which local suppliers to Apple have benefited from increased orders from the US firm.
The ministry is scheduled to release last month’s export orders data on Thursday.
In August, Taiwan’s export orders rose 8.3 percent year-on-year to US$37.93 billion, ending 16 months of consecutive declines caused by weak global demand.
The improvements in export orders in August largely came from a rebound in orders enjoyed by the electronics sector, in particular from Apple, which was in the process of building up inventory in preparation for the launch of the new iPhones, the ministry said.
The effect of Apple’s orders continued into last month, the ministry said.
Local suppliers to Apple include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), which makes the A10 processor for the new iPhones, and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), which is one of the main assemblers of iPhones and iPads.
Largan Precision Co (大立光), a smartphone camera lens producer, is also among the Apple suppliers and provides the dual lenses for the iPhone 7 Plus, the first iPhone model equipped with a dual-lens camera.
Local Apple suppliers come from a wide range of high-tech industries and account for about 40 percent of local equity market capitalization.
In addition to increased orders from Apple, peak season in the global high-tech market has also boosted demand for computers and related devices from international brands, which has raised orders at Taiwanese firms in their supply chains, the ministry said.
An upturn in Internet, automotive electronics and the virtual-reality business has started to boost Taiwan’s outbound sales of information and communications and electronic devices, the ministry said, adding that export orders for the two sectors last month could exceed US$10 billion.
With international crude oil and steel prices showing signs of stabilizing, Taiwan’s export orders in petrochemical and base metal industries are expected to have trended higher last month, the ministry said.
Export orders for last month are expected to range from US$41.5 billion to US$43 billion, up about 4 percent from the same period last year, the ministry said.
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