Confidence in the nation’s economy has dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years, as major central banks’ monetary tightening, a local COVID-19 outbreak and China’s strict pandemic prevention measures affected sentiment toward economic conditions, wage growth, consumption of big-ticket items and property purchases, a survey published by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed on Friday.
The online survey conducted from May 1 to May 7 also showed that Taiwanese have become more pessimistic about the local stock market since last month’s survey, given recent TAIEX volatility amid major central banks’ acceleration of monetary policy tightening.
About 50.1 percent of 21,129 respondents said they were pessimistic about the economy’s chances for improvement in the next six months, with 24.2 percent optimistic, the survey found.
Photo: CNA
Cathay Financial said the survey results pulled its economic optimism index for the next six months down to minus-25.9 this month, its lowest since May 2020, from minus-16.0 last month.
Taiwan’s economy expanded 3.06 percent from a year earlier in the first quarter of the year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) reported on April 28, while expecting GDP to expand more than 4 percent this year.
However, the central bank earlier this month said that it might be difficult for GDP to grow 4 percent this year, citing adverse effects of the Ukraine war, and global monetary tightening on Taiwanese exports in the second half of the year.
The survey also showed that Taiwanese on average expect the economy to grow 3.09 percent this year, lower than the 3.3 percent estimate reported in last month’s survey, while about 81 percent of respondents said GDP would rise more than 2 percent this year.
Moreover, price increases on fruit, vegetables and daily necessities, along with higher costs for fuel and commodities, have raised concerns about inflation, the survey showed, as nearly 89 percent of respondents expect the consumer price index (CPI) to exceed 2 percent this year, with about 45 percent expecting the index to stand at between 2.5 percent and 3 percent.
Cathay Financial said that Taiwanese expect the CPI to increase by an average of 2.66 percent this year, higher than the 2.36 percent estimated in last month’s survey.
The CPI increased 3.38 percent last month, the second consecutive month that the inflation gauge surpassed 3 percent, and the ninth consecutive month it exceeded the central bank’s 2 percent threshold, the DGBAS said.
On Ireland’s blustery western seaboard, researchers are gleefully flying giant kites — not for fun, but in the hope of generating renewable electricity and sparking a “revolution” in wind energy. “We use a kite to capture the wind and a generator at the bottom of it that captures the power,” said Padraic Doherty of Kitepower, the Dutch firm behind the venture. At its test site in operation since September 2023 near the small town of Bangor Erris, the team transports the vast 60-square-meter kite from a hangar across the lunar-like bogland to a generator. The kite is then attached by a
Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準精密), a metal casing supplier owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday announced plans to invest US$1 billion in the US over the next decade as part of its business transformation strategy. The Apple Inc supplier said in a statement that its board approved the investment on Thursday, as part of a transformation strategy focused on precision mold development, smart manufacturing, robotics and advanced automation. The strategy would have a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI), the company added. The company said it aims to build a flexible, intelligent production ecosystem to boost competitiveness and sustainability. Foxconn
Leading Taiwanese bicycle brands Giant Manufacturing Co (巨大機械) and Merida Industry Co (美利達工業) on Sunday said that they have adopted measures to mitigate the impact of the tariff policies of US President Donald Trump’s administration. The US announced at the beginning of this month that it would impose a 20 percent tariff on imported goods made in Taiwan, effective on Thursday last week. The tariff would be added to other pre-existing most-favored-nation duties and industry-specific trade remedy levy, which would bring the overall tariff on Taiwan-made bicycles to between 25.5 percent and 31 percent. However, Giant did not seem too perturbed by the
TARIFF CONCERNS: Semiconductor suppliers are tempering expectations for the traditionally strong third quarter, citing US tariff uncertainty and a stronger NT dollar Several Taiwanese semiconductor suppliers are taking a cautious view of the third quarter — typically a peak season for the industry — citing uncertainty over US tariffs and the stronger New Taiwan dollar. Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科技) said that customers accelerated orders in the first half of the year to avoid potential tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump’s administration. As a result, it anticipates weaker-than-usual peak-season demand in the third quarter. The US tariff plan, announced on April 2, initially proposed a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese goods. Its implementation was postponed by 90 days to July 9, then
RSS