Taiwan’s business climate monitor last month turned “yellow-blue” for the second straight month as major economic barometers stayed in “slowdown mode” due to economic headwinds abroad, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday.
The overall score gained 1 point to 18, as imports of electrical and machinery equipment displayed positive movements, the council said, adding that whether the rise would continue this month is uncertain.
“Both leading and coincident indicators continued to decline, although the pace eased,” NDC research director Wu Ming-huei (吳明蕙) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
The general downtrend suggests the economy remains soft and warrants close attention, Wu said.
The council uses a five-color system to indicate the state of the nation’s economy, with “green” signifying steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. Dual colors indicate a shift to a stronger or weaker state.
Active purchases of capital equipment by local semiconductor manufacturers enabled the business monitor to steer away from the recession path, the official said.
Taiwan is home to the world’s largest contract chipmakers, supplying 60 percent of advanced chips used in high-performance computing, flagship smartphones and data centers.
The Christmas season in the West and the Lunar New Year in Asian countries would support sales of consumer electronic products, although high inflation and monetary tightening could curtail demand, the council said.
The index of leading indicators, which aims to predict the economic situation in the coming six months, weakened 0.97 percent to 95.63, as all sub-indices registered negative cyclical movements except for the reading on imports of semiconductor equipment, the council said.
Major local semiconductor firms said they are also taking a hit from order cancellations and inventory adjustments by global clients, but the magnitude is limited.
The index of coincident indicators, which reflects the current economic situation, decreased 1.34 percent to 95.05, as all comprising gauges fell, with the exception of non-farm payroll, it said.
The end of graduation season and an ongoing recovery in tourism sectors shored up hiring activity, it said.
Service providers catering to domestic demand could see business improvement, but operators linked to exports and financial markets are looking at a cold winter and spring, it said.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS