A record number of German companies operating in Taiwan expect turnover to increase this year, although profit expectations were relatively low, an annual survey by the German Trade Office Taipei showed yesterday.
The survey showed that nearly 65 percent of German companies expect business to improve this year after 81.6 percent met their target last year and well-established firms continued to grow, the office said.
The survey, which was conducted among 251 companies from Dec. 6 last year to Jan. 18, showed that 28.8 percent generated revenue of NT$250 million to NT$1 billion (US$8.97 million to US$35.87 million) in the past few years, an increase of 9.6 percentage points from 2019.
Photo: CNA
It said that 21.9 percent reported revenue in excess of NT$1 billion, up from 19.2 percent in 2019.
Sixty-one percent of the firms said that they expect Taiwan’s economy to continue to improve this year, while 63.1 percent forecast the same for their own companies, the data showed.
Long-term commitment to Taiwan remains high among German companies, with 84.2 percent of respondents having established a presence more than five years ago, the survey said.
However, there are not many newcomers, which might indicate a decline in market entry appeal, it said.
“We recommend keeping a close eye on this trend and conducting further investigation,” German Trade Office Taipei Executive Director Axel Limberg said.
Travel restrictions and quarantine measures in Taiwan amid the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively affected business operations, weakening demand for products and services, and forcing cancelations of events, the office said.
German companies are not spared from the global economic slowdown and supply chain disruptions, it said, adding that 69.7 percent of respondents to the survey were affected by bottlenecks last year.
Negative effects might persist this year, it said.
The survey said that Taiwan’s domestic policy issues gained importance among German firms, with 34.2 percent expressing concern over energy transition and 32.9 percent mentioning digitalization.
Effective implementation of policies would become critical for German businesses to succeed in Taiwan, it said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS