S&P Global Ratings yesterday affirmed its “AA+” long-term and “A-1+” short-term credit ratings for Taiwan.
“The stable outlook reflects our expectation that over the next 24 months, risks to the ratings remain fairly balanced,” S&P said in a statement on its Web site.
Structural demand for Taiwanese semiconductor exports is likely to offset headwinds associated with long-standing geopolitical tensions, the ratings agency said.
Photo: CNA
The ratings are anchored on Taiwan’s robust external position and strong economic support, although an ongoing semiconductor downturn would curb Taiwan’s growth in the short term, it said.
Softening global demand for technology products has weighed on key export sectors in Taiwan, with its semiconductor sector particularly exposed to the slowdown, it said.
Weakening global demand would also hit non-tech sectors, particularly suppliers of commodities and consumer products, the agency said.
“We expect Taiwan’s economic growth to slow this year,” S&P said.
However, Taiwan’s electronics manufacturing sector remains dynamic, highly competitive and well-placed to benefit from long-term developments in technology-intensive integrated circuit chips, the agency said.
Although workers around the world have returned to their offices, reducing the need for remote-working equipment, demand for chips would likely remain robust due to a boom in artificial intelligence, 5G network deployment, big data processing and analytics, and electric vehicles, S&P said.
Taiwan’s growth prospects would be brighter than its peers at a similar income level, it said.
Effective policymaking has contributed to the government’s fiscal health, evidenced by robust domestic liquidity and low debt-servicing costs, it said.
“We expect Taiwan to maintain healthy fiscal metrics over the next three to five years,” S&P said.
However, cross-strait tensions continue to constrain Taiwan’s ratings, as a sharp deterioration in risk sentiment could hurt its export-reliant economy and fiscal position, it said.
The ratings agency said cross-strait relations would not deteriorate toward a major military conflict, adding that close economic and trade links between Taiwan and China support this assessment.
Cairo’s new monorail slices across the city skyline, running above the familiar chaos of blaring horns and aging buses’ exhaust fumes that mark rush hour below. The US$4.5 billion monorail, opened this month, is among Egypt’s most prominent new transport projects, part of a debt-funded infrastructure drive criticized for sapping state finances while bringing limited benefits to most of the country’s 109 million people. “It feels like you’re in a different country,” said Ramy Sayed, a restaurant manager, aboard a driverless Innovia 300 train. “No noise, no traffic, we’re not used to this.” The eastern line runs 56km from the bustling middle-class
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Taiwanese prosecutors suspect that three people successfully smuggled at least one shipment of Nvidia Corp artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China after first exporting them to Japan, people familiar with the matter said. The trio was detained last week by the Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly falsifying documents related to exports of Super Micro Computer Inc servers containing advanced Nvidia chips, which the US has barred from sale to China without a license from Washington. The move marked Taiwan’s first public crackdown on AI chip diversion after years of pressure from the US to take a more active role in curtailing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) employee bonuses are likely to grow more than 30 percent this year, in line with the past few years as the company’s profits continue to set new records, an anonymous source cited TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) as saying yesterday. TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, is committed to taking care of its workers, the source said, citing Wei’s meeting with employees yesterday morning. Wei also expressed gratitude to employees for their contribution to the company’s improving bottom line, the source added. Since 2023, TSMC’s employee bonuses have grown at an annual rate of
RSS