Taiwanese businesses were upbeat over the country's economic performance in March, signalling growing optimism for this year's outlook, a survey showed yesterday.
Nearly 60 percent of the 360 local firms polled considered economic conditions for the month "good," double that for the previous month, according to the survey by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台經院).
Only 6.1 percent of the businesses thought the March performance was "poor," sharply lower than the 23.2 percent recorded a month earlier, the survey said.
TIER attributed the drastic surge in business confidence to increases in productivity, export orders and corporate earnings in March.
Such optimism was unlikely to abate although those anticipating further economic improvement over the next six months shrank to 46.1 percent from 65 percent, an official from the think-tank said.
"That is because the other half of businesses expect the economic conditions to remain as good as they are now," she said.
Some 47.9 percent of the respondents anticipated the economy in the next half-year to stay the same, up from 30.3 percent in February, with 6 percent expecting the economy to worsen, compared to 4.7 percent a month before, according to the survey.
TIER also revised upward its forecast for this year's economic growth to 2.88 percent from 2.38 percent in January amid anticipation of soaring overseas demand and increases in corporate and consumer spending in the second half of the year. It expected the economy to grow 4.33 percent in the third quarter and 4.63 percent in the fourth quarter.
Meanwhile, the Council for Economic Planning and Development reported yesterday that Taiwan's composite index emerged out of recessionary levels in March for the first time in 15 months.
The composite index, which reflects current economic conditions, rose from a recessionary "blue" reading on the five-color scale, the council said.
The leading indicator index for March, which gauges economic activity for the next three to six months, rose for the sixth consecutive month, up 2.4 percent from February to 99.9 points, it said.
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