Chief executive officers of Taiwanese companies were slightly more confident about the global economic scene this year and aimed to pursue business growth by boosting operating efficiency, a survey released yesterday by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) showed.
Thirty-one percent of the CEOs voiced confidence about the macro-business environment, an increase of 4 percent from a year earlier and more upbeat than global peers, the annual survey found.
PwC Taiwan chairman Joseph Chou (周建宏) attributed the improvement in sentiment to an easing of US-China trade tensions, which have now been replaced by fears over the COVID-19 pandemic.
The survey, conducted between September and December last year, does not reflect the effects of the pandemic that has spread around the world after being first detected in China in December.
“Confidence would now be much lower, but the findings remain useful,” Chou told an online news conference.
A large majority, or 82 percent, intend to pursue revenue growth by boosting operating efficiency, as such a strategy requires less expenditure and investment, he said.
Seventy-six percent said they would achieve the aim by launching new products and services, Chou said.
Nearly 20 percent would seek to expand the scale of their operations through mergers and acquisitions, and about 9 percent would contemplate strategic partnerships with entrepreneurs, the survey found.
Prior to the outbreak, the CEOs named trade conflicts as the biggest challenge facing Taiwan, followed by foreign currency volatility and policy uncertainty, Chou said.
Protectionism also sat atop the list of concerns, followed by geopolitical uncertainty, the survey found.
Only 8 percent of Taiwanese business leaders plan to tap business opportunities arising from climate change, much lower than the global average of 25 percent, it found.
Fifteen percent of the CEOs said they have seen progress in talent upgrade programs, falling behind the global average of 54 percent, the survey found.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his