Exports grew at a faster-than--expected pace last month, thanks to strong demand for oil products as well as information and communication technology (ICT) products, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
Outbound shipments surged 11.7 percent last month from a year earlier to US$27.03 billion — faster than the 9.9 percent growth recorded in September, the ministry said in a report.
On a monthly comparison basis, exports rose 9.8 percent last month after falling for two consecutive months, the report said.
“Last month’s exports rose higher than expected given stronger demand for mineral and ICT products made by Taiwanese companies,” Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞), director of the ministry’s statistics department, told a press conference.
Exports of “mineral products,” mainly oil products, increased 72.1 percent from a year earlier to US$1.82 billion last month, marking their highest level since August 2008, as Formosa Plastics Group’s (台塑集團) naphtha cracking plants in Mailiao (麥寮), Yunlin County, resumed operations, Lin said.
ICT exports also increased 29.8 percent from a year ago to US$1.91 billion last month, mainly because of robust demand for smartphones, Lin said.
Tony Phoo (符銘財), a Taipei-based economist at Standard Chartered Bank, said the rebound in sales of electronics and ICT products was a reassuring sign that exporters were starting deliveries for orders to meet year-end holiday demand.
However, demand still differed by sector, with exports of LED, DRAM and central processing units (CPU), for instance, still posting double-digit declines year-on-year last month, the ministry said.
Shipments to major global destinations surged last month from a year ago, with exports to the six ASEAN emerging markets outpacing other markets by rising 23.7 percent to US$4.53 billion, the ministry said.
It expects exports to grow another 10 percent in the last two months of the year, and full-year growth of between 13 percent and 15 percent.
Meanwhile, imports last month rose 11.8 percent from a year earlier and 3.8 percent from a month earlier to US$23.71 billion, the ministry said.
Inbound shipments of consumer goods hit a record high of US$2.2 billion, led by demand for automobiles, it said.
However, imports of capital goods declined 15.8 percent from a year ago to US$3 billion, their lowest level since March 2008, indicating that a slowing global economy has impacted local companies’ capital spending, the ministry said.
The resultant trade surplus last month rose 11.1 percent year-on-year to US$3.32 billion, ministry data showed.
Cheng Cheng-mount (鄭貞茂), chief economist at Citigroup in Taipei, said that compared with the third quarter, imports last month indicated that domestic demand remained resilient and the downtrend in capital goods imports also decelerated.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
STABLE RESULTS: Despite June’s lower consolidated revenue, second-quarter sales still reached a record high, driven by demand for chips for AI applications Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reported consolidated sales of NT$263.71 billion (US$9.02 billion) for last month, its second-lowest monthly result this year. The world’s largest contract chipmaker said in a statement that its revenue last month only fared better than the NT$260.01 billion posted in February. Last month’s figure rose 26.9 percent from a year earlier, but slumped 17.7 percent from May, the company said. However, second-quarter revenue reached NT$933.8 billion, a record high for a single quarter, company data showed. The figure represented growth of 11.26 percent from the first quarter and 38.6 percent from a year earlier. Previously, TSMC said that
RSS