Public confidence in the economy and equity investment showed signs of stabilization this month, ending five straight months of declines, after the government last week raised its GDP growth forecast for this year, a survey released yesterday by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed.
More people expect the economy to continue to expand from last month, despite a trade war between the US and China, the nation’s largest financial services provider said.
People who expect the economy to deteriorate in the coming six months fell slightly to 48 percent, while 16.5 percent expect an improvement, the monthly survey found.
Thirty percent said the economy would remain unchanged, while 4.9 percent expressed no opinion, according to the online survey, which polled 16,243 respondents between Aug. 1 and Aug. 7.
“Last quarter, the economy grew at the fastest pace in more than three years thanks to strong exports that allowed the government to revise up its GDP growth forecast for this year to 2.69 percent,” Cathay Financial economic research department assistant manager Achilles Chen (陳欽奇) said in a report.
The arrival of the high sales season for technology brands would boost local firms in their supply chains, Chen said.
Taiwan is home to scores of suppliers for Apple Inc, which is expected to unveil its new iPhone models next month.
However, the trade war cast a shadow over public confidence, with 74.8 percent expecting downside risks to build up, while nearly 64 percent expressed worry and 30 percent rated the unease as “serious,” the poll found.
The sentiment could limit appetite for risky assets.
The poll found that 27.8 percent of respondents intend to cut equity investments, while 18.6 percent plan to increase holdings.
The findings make sense, as 40.7 percent believe the TAIEX would enter corrections in the next six months, while 18.3 percent are looking at upward movements, the survey said.
More than one-third of respondents expressed plans to lower their budgets for durable goods or big-ticket items in the coming six months, far more than those who aim to increase spending, it said.
That explained why a majority of the respondents said it is a bad time to sell real estate, it said.
About 72 percent said it is not wise to buy, while 57.9 percent believe it is not a good idea to sell, either, the poll said.
Most of the respondents expect consumer prices to increase 3 to 6 percent in the coming six months, it said.
Ryanair, Transavia, Volotea and other low-cost airlines are feeling the financial pain from high jet fuel prices as a result of the Middle East war and are cutting flights. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has taken a huge chunk of oil supplies off the market, sending the price of jet fuel soaring and triggering fears of shortages that could force airlines to cancel flights. Airlines are not waiting for a lack of supplies to react. “Travel alert: Airlines are cutting thousands of flights right now,” Travel Therapy host Karen Schaler said in an Instagram reel this past weekend.
MANAGING RISKS: Taiwan has secured LNG sufficient to cover 95 percent of electricity demand for next month, UBS said, describing the government’s approach as proactive UBS Group AG has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 8 percent, up from 6.9 percent previously, and said expansion could reach as high as 8.6 percent if external energy shocks are avoided. The upgrade reflects a stronger-than-expected first-quarter performance and sustained momentum in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven exports, which UBS said are providing a firm foundation for growth despite geopolitical and energy risks. Taiwan’s GDP expanded 13.69 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, the fastest growth since the second quarter of 1987, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on Thursday. On a seasonally
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
The list of Asian stocks that benefit from business partnership with Nvidia Corp is getting longer, as the region further integrates into the artificial intelligence (AI) chip giant’s business ecosystem. Just in the past week, South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc, Taiwan’s Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技), as well as China’s Huizhou Desay SV Automotive Co (德賽西威) and Pateo Connect Technology Shanghai Corp (博泰車聯) have become the latest to rally on news of tie-ups, supply-chain participation or product collaboration with the US chip designer. Asian suppliers account for about 90 percent of Nvidia’s production costs, up from about 65 percent last year, data compiled
RSS