Sales in the retail sector in the first two months of the year rose 4.3 percent year-on-year to NT$769.3 billion (US$24.14 billion), the highest for the same period on record, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Sales for the first two months are reported together to factor out the effects of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, when many businesses are closed. The holiday was in January last year, but in February this year.
Rising sales of vehicles and general merchandise due to a series of promotional campaigns before the Lunar New Year holiday, as well as higher revenue generated by convenience stores, were the main drivers, the ministry said in a report.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
An increase in e-commerce and catalog sales as firms launched marketing campaigns before the holiday also contributed to the growth, it added.
For this month, the ministry forecast that the retail sector’s growth momentum would continue thanks to seasonal demand for clothing and related products and special sales promotions related to International Women’s Day and White Valentine’s Day.
Retail sales are to grow between 0.3 and 3.3 percent annually to between NT$371.6 billion and NT$382.7 billion this month, it said.
The food and beverage sector also posted record-high sales of NT$188.4 billion for the first two months, representing an annual increase of 5.7 percent, as holiday consumption benefited restaurants, while travel demand boosted catering services for international flights, the report said.
The sector’s sales this month are expected to fall from last month due to fewer holidays, but sales are likely to grow from a year earlier, up 8.8 to 11.8 percent to between NT$83.9 billion and NT$86.2 billion, as firms remain active in brand development and store expansion, it added.
Meanwhile, the wholesale sector witnessed a 9.1 percent annual rise in sales to NT$1.94 trillion during the first two months, mainly driven by demand for machinery equipment used to develop emerging artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) applications, the report said.
Higher steel prices and kitchenware shipments also boosted the wholesale revenue of building materials, while channel distributors and restaurants’ piling up inventory contributed to revenue growth in wholesale food, beverage and tobacco products, it added.
This month, the wholesale sector would see sales grow from a year earlier, up 5.8 to 8.8 percent to between NT$1.08 trillion and NT$1.11 trillion, due to stable domestic consumption and steady demand for new technology applications such as AI, the ministry said.
The Fair Trade Commission’s (FTC) ongoing review of Grab Holdings Ltd’s US$600 million acquisition of Foodpanda Taiwan’s operations, announced on March 23, has taken on fresh urgency as industry experts warn that the transaction could embed significant Chinese cybersecurity vulnerabilities into Taiwan’s digital infrastructure through Grab’s deep ties to autonomous-driving firm WeRide (文遠知行). Less than 16 months after the FTC blocked Uber Eats’ direct attempt to acquire Foodpanda Taiwan — citing potential combined market shares of 80 to 90 percent — the emergence of Grab as the buyer has prompted questions about whether the same competitive harm is simply being rerouted
POWER BUILDUP: Powered by Nvidia’s B200 Blackwell chips, the data center would support MediaTek’s computing power demand and business growth, the company said Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) yesterday launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) data center with a maximum capacity of 45 megawatts to meet its rising demand for computing power required to develop new advanced chips for AI applications. The company has completed the first-phase computing power buildup at the data center in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), providing 15 megawatts of capacity to support its research and development (R&D) capabilities, despite an industrywide shortage of key components, MediaTek said. Supply constraints have plagued a wide range of key components, including memory chips, solid-state drives, power supply units and central
IMAGE SENSORS: The Japanese company would be the controlling shareholder of the venture, with development and production lines to be set up in Kumamoto Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corp to create a joint venture to develop and produce next-generation images sensors. The partnership seeks to explore and address emerging opportunities in physical artificial intelligence (AI) applications, such as automotive and robotics, paving the way for innovations and expanded technological advancements, TSMC said in a statement. Sony would be the majority and controlling shareholder of the joint venture, the statement said, adding that the company would set up development and production lines in its newly constructed fab in Kumamoto Prefecture’s
The nation’s foreign exchange reserves climbed back above US$600 billion at the end of last month, as investment gains, currency valuation effects and renewed foreign inflows offset volatility seen earlier in the month, the central bank said yesterday. Reserves stood at US$602.49 billion, up US$5.6 billion from the previous month, the central bank said. The rebound reflected returns on reserve assets, fluctuations in major currencies against the US dollar and the central bank’s market operations aimed at maintaining orderly trading conditions, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said. Financial markets were volatile early last month, with foreign investors recording net purchases
RSS