Electricity use in Taiwan last month increased 1.61 percent from a year earlier, the fastest growth in 20 months, buoyed by local makers of electronics used in artificial intelligence (AI) applications, the Taiwan Research Institute (台灣綜合研究院) said yesterday.
The latest Electricity Prosperity Index, which the New Taipei City-based research body uses to gauge the health of the industrial and service sectors, climbed into “green” territory for the first time last year, indicating steady growth on the back of rapid AI investment by global technology titans.
The rise was also linked to fading inventory adjustments and a low comparison base a year earlier, the institute said.
Photo: CNA
Use of high-voltage power increased 1.55 percent year-on-year, with demand from the manufacturing sector rising 1.3 percent, hinting at a much-anticipated recovery, it said.
Power use by semiconductor firms last month rose 9 percent from a year earlier to a 13-month high, although suppliers of memory chips and printed circuit boards remained weighed down by negative cyclical movements based on their export orders, it said.
Electricity use among makers of PCs and optical devices was up 5 percent from December 2022 due to greater demand for high-performance computing, cloud services, AI applications and emerging technologies, it said.
Power use by the service sector increased 2.88 percent as local retailers, hospitality operators and tourism service providers enjoyed robust business over the holiday season, the institute said.
Taiwan’s economy likely expanded 5.8 percent year-on-year last month and 5.1 percent in the October-to-December quarter, with last year as a whole likely to show a mild pickup of 1.4 percent, it said.
Demand for electricity in the high-tech sector might decline this quarter due to a low season and fewer working days than average, the institute said, adding that mounting geopolitical conflicts are adding uncertainty to the economy.
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
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
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
RSS