Taiwanese companies last month gained more confidence about their business outlook from the previous month, even though sentiment weakened a bit over the Lunar New Year holiday, a survey by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台經院) showed yesterday.
The business climate gauge for the manufacturing industry stood at 97.99 last month, slowing 1.2 points from a revised 99.19 in January due to holiday distortions, the Taipei-based think tank said, citing its monthly survey.
However, 47.8 percent of the firms were optimistic about their business prospects in the coming six months, up 5.7 percentage points from one month earlier, the survey indicated.
The number of firms with negative views dropped 4.7 percentage points to 8.1 percent, the survey found.
The figures fell in line with the global technology cycle, where firms in the supply chain normally see their business perform strongest one quarter after the Christmas sales season, TIER economic forecasting center director Gordon Sun (孫明德) said.
The business sentiment reading for service sectors fared almost unchanged at 95.87 last month from a revised 95.92 in January, as retailers and restaurant operators were upbeat, but their peers turned conservative, the survey found.
Looking forward, insurance companies and warehouses expect business to improve in the coming six months, the survey said. The construction sector voiced slightly more confidence last month with the business measure hitting 80.29, up 0.72 point from 79.57 in January, ending five months of decline, the survey indicated.
The institute attributed the increase to the advent of the spring sales season between the last week of this month and the end of next month.
While the number of prospective buyers increased after the Lunar New Year, transactions remained weak, TIER said, cautioning against premature expectations of a rebound given lingering policy uncertainty.
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