The government’s business climate monitor last month flashed “red” for the sixth straight month, signaling a continued economic boom even though the overall score shrank slightly due to a local COVID-19 outbreak, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday.
The gauge shed 2 points to 38 and could falter this month as the low-base effect tapers off, NDC research director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) said.
“Regardless, the nation’s economy should stay on a stable course in the foreseeable future, thanks to strong exports, industrial production and private investment, while virus containment measures crimp business for service sectors,” Wu told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The council uses a five-color system to portray the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” signaling a recession. Dual colors indicate a transition.
Lackluster retail, wholesale and restaurant revenues accounted for the decline of 2 points, while other indicators held steady, Wu said.
On the trade front, demand for electronics gained momentum as international technology brands are about to release new-generation products to meet back-to-school and holiday demand, the official said.
Taiwan is home to the world’s leading manufacturers of chips and other electronic components used in smartphones, laptops, wearables and vehicles.
Export orders, a critical barometer of actual exports one to three months ahead, last month expanded 21.4 percent year-on-year to US$55.3 billion, boding well for Taiwan’s export-focused economy, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said earlier this week.
The index of leading indicators, which seeks to predict the economic situation in the next six months, softened 0.66 percent to 100.47, as all constituent measures lost points except for the reading on local share prices, the council’s report found.
A local COVID-19 outbreak caused retreats in business confidence, labor accession rates and construction floor areas, Wu said, adding that the situation should improve as the outbreak subsides.
The index of coincident indicators, which reflects the current economic situation, pared 0.89 percent to 101.51, the council said.
Industrial production, sales of manufacturing goods and imports of capital equipment picked up, while non-farm payroll, electricity usage and export value pointed downward, it said.
The government is to help shore up domestic demand by distributing Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers likely in October, Wu said.
That would lend timely support to GDP growth at a time when a favorable base effect for exports wanes, the official said.
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS