A majority of German companies in Taiwan expect their business to pick up in the next 12 months and none of them expect their operations to soften, a global survey by the German Chambers of Commerce Abroad (AHK) showed yesterday.
The AHK conducted the poll via its 140 branches in 92 countries from March 17 to April 9. The results reaffirmed those of a confidence survey conducted in February by the German Trade Office Taipei.
The AHK poll found that 62.8 percent of German companies in Taiwan said they expect their business to improve in the coming 12 months, while none had a grim outlook.
The survey found that 44.2 percent of respondents plan to increase their workforce in Taiwan, while none of them intend to reduce headcounts.
Asked about Taiwan’s economic outlook over the next 12 months, the companies were more optimistic than the February survey, with 74.5 percent saying the economy would gain significant momentum.
That is 11.2 percentage points higher from the previous survey, the office said.
Despite the rosy sentiment, respondents in the AHK survey identified some challenges ahead, led by concerns over a drop in demand at 48.8 percent, trade barriers at 34.9 percent and foreign-exchange volatility at 25.6 percent, it said.
Several Taiwanese firms have sounded the alarm about potential overbooking by global customers to ensure supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a phenomenon that could be augmenting component and material shortages, as well as shipping bottlenecks.
When asked about the effects of the pandemic on their business operations, 68.3 percent named travel restrictions as the top headache, 26.7 percentage points higher than the previous survey, the office said, adding that travel freedom is important for maintaining and expanding business relations.
Supply chain disruptions ranked as the No. 2 problem at 51.2 percent, followed by cancelations of trade fairs and events at 36.6 percent, the survey found.
Regardless, 32.6 percent of the firms plan to increase investment in Taiwan, while only 2.3 percent plan to reduce investment, it said.
The survey found that 41.5 percent of respondents expect Taiwan’s economy to return to normal in the second half of this year, while 22 percent said it could happen in the first half.
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