Confidence in the local economy appeared mixed this month, with the index gauging current conditions rising, while another index assessing the economic outlook declined, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) said on Thursday.
Citing a survey conducted from Feb. 1 to Feb. 7, Cathay Financial said about 29.3 percent of respondents thought the economy improved this month, while 35.7 percent felt it worsened.
That translated into an economic optimism index of about minus-6.4 this month, an improvement from minus-8.7 last month.
Photo: CNA
However, the economic optimism index for the next six months fell to minus-11.2 this month from minus-5.8 last month, following a decline in December leading indicators, the survey showed.
Amid volatility in global stock markets and US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats, the index measuring optimism toward the local stock market dropped sharply from 16.5 last month to 9.2 this month, the survey found.
Meanwhile, the index gauging the appetite for risk in the stock market increased slightly from 17.2 last month to 19.3 this month.
Cathay Financial said that 34 percent of respondents believed the tariff war could affect global trade and impact Taiwan’s economic growth, while 43.1 percent said the performance of US stock markets is expected to influence Taiwan’s equity market.
Respondents also projected GDP to grow 2.84 percent this year, with 53 percent expecting annual growth to be below 3 percent, it said, adding that it was more conservative than the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ (DGBAS) forecast of 3.29 percent.
Respondents expected growth in the local consumer price index (CPI) to reach 2.28 percent this year, with about 66 percent anticipating the CPI would average more than 2 percent for the year, above the central bank’s forecast, Cathay Financial said.
The DGBAS forecast that inflation would slow from 2.18 percent last year to 1.93 percent this year.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday signed a letter of intent with Alaska Gasline Development Corp (AGDC), expressing an interest to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) and invest in the latter’s Alaska LNG project, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. Under the agreement, CPC is to participate in the project’s upstream gas investment to secure stable energy resources for Taiwan, the ministry said. The Alaska LNG project is jointly promoted by AGDC and major developer Glenfarne Group LLC, as Alaska plans to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG annually from 2031. It involves constructing an 1,290km
RSS