Business confidence among manufacturers softened mildly last month, as lingering supply chain bottlenecks and rising COVID-19 cases in the West added uncertainty to a global economic recovery, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday.
The sentiment gauge for the manufacturing sector slid 0.59 points to 101.25, retreating for a sixth straight month, the Taipei-based institute said.
Most chemical product makers reported an improvement in business after the COVID-19 outbreak in Southeast Asia and India subsided, the institute’s monthly survey found.
Photo: Allen Wu, Taipei Times
Suppliers of base metal products held flat views due to spikes in shipping rates and a rising New Taiwan dollar, even though overall export orders picked up, the survey showed.
Companies that hold a positive outlook for the next six months fell 3.9 percentage points to 23.5 percent, while 60 percent expect business to hold steady and 15.3 percent, down 2.8 points, hold a negative view, the institute said.
By contrast, the business confidence reading for service providers gained 1.58 points to 96.76, aided by pent-up consumer demand and the government’s stimulus measures, the institute said.
Nearly 90 percent of restaurants, hotels and department stores are expecting a continued recovery in the coming six months, while telecom operators expect to benefit from customers migrating from 4G to 5G services, it said.
The business confidence of construction firms and real-estate brokers fell 1.97 points to 108.85, ending three months of upswing, it said.
The decline came as profit recognitions had peaked for this year and new construction projects slowed toward the end of the year, the institute said.
Developers and brokers had flat views about the market ahead, as inflation and excess liquidity bode well for real estate, but pricing differences widened between buyers and sellers, which is unfavorable for transactions, it said.
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