The manufacturing sector’s outlook improved last month amid strong growth in exports of electronic components as emerging technology applications boosted global demand, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研院) said yesterday.
The composite index, which gauges sentiment in the manufacturing sector, rose 3.36 points from April to 101.69 after a fall of 1.7 points in April, TIER said.
The rise came after exports of electronics components rose 15.9 percent from a year earlier and export orders for electronics parts rose 14 percent year-on-year.
However, the sub-index for the property development sector continued to move in the opposite direction, falling 0.33 percent to 94.89.
It was the fourth consecutive monthly decline for the sector as the supply of homes increased and building material prices rose, TIER said.
The composite index for the local service sector moved higher for the third month in a row to 101.69, up 1.89 from April, after the TAIEX rose 2.04 percent last month, TIER said.
Meanwhile, a TIER survey found 37.4 percent of manufacturers said the business climate improved last month, up from 29.4 percent in in April, while 11.6 percent said the climate deteriorated, down from 26.5 percent in the April.
Electronics and machinery businesses appeared more upbeat than any other in the manufacturing sector, TIER said.
The composite index of the manufacturing sector is expected to expand in the third quarter, a traditional peak season for the sector, TIER Economic Forecasting Center director Gordon Sun (孫明德) said.
Sun said he was particularly upbeat about new technology applications such as automotive electronics and smart devices.
However, he raised concerns about raw material export growth over the next few months if international crude oil prices do not rise as they have been expected to.
The 11.2 percent year-on-year increase in the nation’s exports in the first five months of this year was partially the result of higher raw material exports as foreign buyers built up inventories in anticipation of crude prices rising.
If oil prices do not increase, those buyers would have excessive inventories and order less from exporters, Sun said.
As for the possible impact of simmering trade friction between the US and China, Sun said both sides continue to threaten each other by imposing additional tariffs, but those tariffs have not yet been felt in the real economy.
PROTECTIONISM: China hopes to help domestic chipmakers gain more market share while preparing local tech companies for the possibility of more US sanctions Beijing is stepping up pressure on Chinese companies to buy locally produced artificial intelligence (AI) chips instead of Nvidia Corp products, part of the nation’s effort to expand its semiconductor industry and counter US sanctions. Chinese regulators have been discouraging companies from purchasing Nvidia’s H20 chips, which are used to develop and run AI models, sources familiar with the matter said. The policy has taken the form of guidance rather than an outright ban, as Beijing wants to avoid handicapping its own AI start-ups and escalating tensions with the US, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the
FALLING BEHIND: Samsung shares have declined more than 20 percent this year, as the world’s largest chipmaker struggles in key markets and plays catch-up to rival SK Hynix Samsung Electronics Co is laying off workers in Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand as part of a plan to reduce its global headcount by thousands of jobs, sources familiar with the situation said. The layoffs could affect about 10 percent of its workforces in those markets, although the numbers for each subsidiary might vary, said one of the sources, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. Job cuts are planned for other overseas subsidiaries and could reach 10 percent in certain markets, the source said. The South Korean company has about 147,000 in staff overseas, more than half
Taipei is today suspending its US$2.5 trillion stock market as Super Typhoon Krathon approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed-income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed in several cities and counties in southern and eastern Taiwan, including in the key industrial port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan, which started canceling flights, ship sailings and some train services earlier this week, has wind and rain advisories in place for much of the island. It regularly experiences typhoons, and in July shut offices and schools as
CHEMICAL FIRE: 10 Indian employees were injured by smoke inhalation at a Tata Electronics plant in Tamil Nadu state that produces components for Apple Inc At least 10 people received medical treatment, with two hospitalized after a major fire on Saturday disrupted production at a key Tata Electronics Pvt Ltd plant in southern India that makes Apple Inc’s iPhone components. The fire occurred at the plant in the city of Hosur in Tamil Nadu state that makes some iPhone components. It broke out near another building inside the Tata complex, which was to begin producing complete iPhones in the coming months. The fire was contained to one building and has been extinguished fully, top district administrative official K.M. Sarayu said. No decision has been made on when
RSS