The nation’s exports fell 9.7 percent from a month earlier to US$27.88 billion last month because of weaker seasonal demand for Taiwanese electronics and the shutdown of several plants at the sixth naphtha cracker complex, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.
However, exports still grew 10.8 percent last month from a year earlier, with exports surging 16.9 percent year-on-year to US$154.14 billion in the first six months, the strongest level ever, the ministry’s data showed.
“The continuing strong momentum of Asian economies, and the robust demand from US and European countries for high-tech products made by local companies, drove up Taiwan’s exports in the first half of the year,” Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞), director of the statistics department, said at a media briefing.
Robust demand for smartphones and tablets made by Taiwanese companies helped boost exports in information and communications technology products to US$3.91 billion in the first six months, up 66.3 percent year-on-year, the highest growth among 10 sectors, Lin said.
Outbound shipments to China and Hong Kong, the US, Japan, Europe and ASEAN all hit a record high in the first half of the year, Lin said, adding that exports to ASEAN accounted for 16.4 percent of overall exports during the period, the highest level in history.
Looking forward to the second half of the year, rising uncertainties about the global economy — including fiscal tightening measures in emerging markets and the eurozone’s debt crisis — may slow the growth of exports, Lin said.
“However, the ministry remains optimistic that full-year exports will reach the government’s goal of US$310 billion, because the global economy is still in a recovery phase,” she said.
Imports surged 20.3 percent from a year earlier to US$144.07 billion in the first six months, also the highest on record, with imports of capital goods, consumer goods and agricultural and industrial raw materials all reaching a historic high, the ministry said.
Because imports grew faster than exports, the nation’s trade surplus fell 17.1 percent year-on-year to US$10.08 billion in the second half of the year, data showed.
“However, this may not hurt the nation’s competitiveness because the growth of imports mainly came from capital goods, a potentially good sign for an export-oriented country like Taiwan,” Lin said.
HSBC Greater China economist Donna Kwok (郭浩庄) also expects the growth in exports to improve in the third quarter on stronger demand.
“Last month’s exports was a disappointing result, but as supply disruptions fade, Japan reconstruction efforts kick in, China holds up and US demand reaccelerates, Taiwan’s electronics-driven trade flows will stabilize during the third quarter,” Kwok said in a note yesterday.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said that its investment plan in Arizona is going according to schedule, following a local media report claiming that the company is planning to break ground on its third wafer fab in the US in June. In a statement, TSMC said it does not comment on market speculation, but that its investments in Arizona are proceeding well. TSMC is investing more than US$65 billion in Arizona to build three advanced wafer fabs. The first one has started production using the 4-nanometer (nm) process, while the second one would start mass production using the
A TAIWAN DEAL: TSMC is in early talks to fully operate Intel’s US semiconductor factories in a deal first raised by Trump officials, but Intel’s interest is uncertain Broadcom Inc has had informal talks with its advisers about making a bid for Intel Corp’s chip-design and marketing business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Nothing has been submitted to Intel and Broadcom could decide not to pursue a deal, according to the Journal. Bloomberg News earlier reported that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is in early talks for a controlling stake in Intel’s factories at the request of officials at US President Donald Trump’s administration, as the president looks to boost US manufacturing and maintain the country’s leadership in critical technologies. Trump officials raised the
From George Clooney to LeBron James, celebrities in the US have cashed in on tequila’s soaring popularity, but in Mexico, producers of the agave plant used to make the country’s most famous liquor are nursing a nasty hangover. Instead of bringing a long period of prosperity for farmers of the spiky succulent, the tequila boom has created a supply glut that sent agave prices slumping. Mexican tequila exports surged from 224 million liters in 2018 to a record 402 million last year, according to the Tequila Regulatory Council, which oversees qualification for the internationally recognized denomination of origin label. The US, Germany, Spain,
RSS