More local manufacturers feel upbeat on business sentiment in the coming six months, an indication that seasonal demand in the fourth quarter would be strong enough to lead the sector’s expansion, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday.
The latest survey conducted by the Taipei-based think tank showed that respondents who felt bullish about business prospects in the near term dropped 3.4 percentage points to 40.8 percent last month, while those who felt neutral or bearish stood at 39.3 percent and 20 percent respectively.
Overall, the business climate gauge for the manufacturing sector climbed to 96.66 points last month, edging up 2.86 points from a revised 93.8 points in June, indicating an optimistic business sentiment overall, the institute said.
“The results reflect that the global demand for consumer electronics made by Taiwanese companies remains strong in the near term,” Chen Miao (陳淼), director of the institute’s macroeconomic forecasting center, told the Taipei Times by telephone yesterday.
A separate survey conducted by the institute and released yesterday showed the business climate gauge for the service sector dropped to 105.32 points last month, down 2.13 points from a revised 107.45 points in June on the slowing tourism sector.
Despite the recent uncertainties in the US and the eurozone, Chen said he expected the global economy to keep its pace of expansion in the second half of the year rather than heading into a double-dip recession. However, he said he had doubts about the US Federal Reserve launching another wave of quantitative easing measures, or QE3, to boost the US economy.
“The US Federal Reserve should not conduct the QE3 hastily as the recent market crash was only an overreaction caused by investors’ panic about the [current global] uncertainties,” Chen said. “The Fed’s pledge to maintain low interest rates until 2013 is also a type of monetary easing.”
Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) shared Chen’s view that the use of QE3 might further lead the world into deeper inflationary pressures in the long term.
Also, the current record-high gold price has been fully factored into the US’ possible use of QE3, Liu said.
The future trend of the gold price would mainly depend on the range of quantitative easing in the US, Liu said, adding that if the US does not issue many paper bills, the gold price might fall in the future.
Three experts in the high technology industry have said that US President Donald Trump’s pledge to impose higher tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors is part of an effort to force Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to the negotiating table. In a speech to Republicans on Jan. 27, Trump said he intends to impose tariffs on Taiwan to bring chip production to the US. “The incentive is going to be they’re not going to want to pay a 25, 50 or even a 100 percent tax,” he said. Darson Chiu (邱達生), an economics professor at Taichung-based Tunghai University and director-general of
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
A move by US President Donald Trump to slap a 25 percent tariff on all steel imports is expected to place Taiwan-made steel, which already has a 25 percent tariff, on an equal footing, the Taiwan Steel & Iron Industries Association said yesterday. Speaking with CNA, association chairman Hwang Chien-chih (黃建智) said such an equal footing is expected to boost Taiwan’s competitive edge against other countries in the US market, describing the tariffs as "positive" for Taiwanese steel exporters. On Monday, Trump signed two executive orders imposing the new metal tariffs on imported steel and aluminum with no exceptions and exemptions, effective