Nearly 40 percent of Taiwanese expect housing prices to pick up this quarter and 10 percent predict a decline, while many expressed concern over inflation, Chinatrust Real Estate Co (中信房屋) said in a survey released yesterday.
Thirty-nine percent of respondents said that housing prices would rise in the next few months, Chinatrust Real Estate said, citing internal data.
Although the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院) on Wednesday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year to 5.84 percent from 5.16 percent, 42 percent of respondents said that the economy weakened last quarter from three months earlier, the real-estate broker said.
Photo: Hsu Yi-ping, Taipei Times
Restaurants and small and medium-sized retailers exited the market to stop losses after business failed to return to normal amid a level 2 COVID-19 alert, it said.
At the same time, sectors are complaining about escalating operating costs as prices for oil products, raw materials and commodities soar, it said.
Developers and builders have indicated chances are slim of price concessions in light of more expensive steel, wood, glass and other building materials, despite the government’s selective credit controls and unfavorable property tax terms, it said.
Construction might focus on apartments with a lower barrier to entry on cheaper land for the time being rather than more expensive projects, as prospective buyers might hesitate, Chinatrust Real Estate said.
For existing homes, sellers and buyers should iron out their pricing differences in a timely fashion to cope with inflation, which would eat away at wealth, it said.
About 75 percent of respondents said that things are much more expensive today than this time last year, including 30 percent who said that prices are “very expensive,” it said, adding that 45 percent said that things are “less expensive.”
Given that, respondents believe home prices would hold steady in the near future, it said.
People are willing to cut spending on clothing and recreation, if necessary, to cope with inflation, as they are not necessary items, the survey said.
Food and housing rank high on the list of concerns, as both are essential to maintain a decent life, it said.
US PROBE: The Information reported that the US Department of Commerce is investigating whether the firm made advanced chips for China’s Huawei Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract maker of advanced chips, yesterday said it is a law-abiding company, and is committed to complying with all applicable laws and regulations including export controls. The Hsinchu-based chip giant issued the statement after US news Web site The Information ran a story saying that the US Department of Commerce has launched a probe into TSMC over whether it breached export rules by making smartphone or artificial intelligence (AI) chips for China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為). “We maintain a robust and comprehensive export system for monitoring and ensuring compliance,” the statement said. “If we
DEMAND FOR AI CHIPS: Net income in the third quarter surged 31.2% quarter-on-quarter to NT$325.26 billion, the strongest quarterly return in the company’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday raised its revenue forecast to annual growth of 30 percent this year, thanks to strong and sustainable demand for artificial intelligence (AI) processors for servers. It was the second upward adjustment from 25 percent year-on-year growth estimated three months ago, despite recent concerns about whether the AI boom could be another technology bubble. “The demand is real. It’s real. And I believe it is just the beginning of this demand. Alright, so one of my key customers said the demand right now is ‘insane,’” TSMC chairman and chief executive C.C.
Starbucks Corp might have the more recognizable name, but 7-Eleven’s City Cafe remains the king of Taiwan’s fresh coffee market, helped by the convenience store chain’s extensive market presence and product diversification. President Chain Store Corp (PCSC, 統一超商), which runs both the 7-Eleven and Starbucks store chains in Taiwan, established the City Cafe brand in 2004. The brand took off when actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) became its spokesperson in 2007. City Cafe’s sales exceeded NT$10 billion (US$311.69 million) for the first time in 2015, surpassing the revenue of Starbucks Taiwan, and rose to more than NT$17 billion last year, exceeding the NT$14.98
COUNTRY-BASED: Setting ceilings on sales of the technology would tighten limits that originally targeted China’s ambitions in artificial intelligence amid security risks US officials have discussed capping sales of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) chips from Nvidia Corp and other American companies on a country-specific basis, people familiar with the matter said, a move that would limit some nations’ AI capabilities. The new approach would set a ceiling on export licenses for some countries in the interest of national security, according to the people, who described the private discussions on condition of anonymity. Officials in the administration of US President Joe Biden focused on Persian Gulf countries that have a growing appetite for AI data centers and the deep pockets to fund them, the people