Total revenue from the nation’s manufacturing sector this year is expected to fall from last year, due to continued decline in crude oil and stainless steel prices, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
“We expect annual revenues in the manufacturing sector to drop about 2.5 percent from last year’s NT$27.33 trillion (US$829.44 billion),” Department of Statistics Deputy Director-General Yang Kuei-hsien (楊貴顯) said by telephone.
Yang’s remarks came after the ministry released the manufacturing sector’s revenues for last quarter, in which the figure dropped 5.6 percent annually to NT$6.56 trillion.
Last quarter’s result marked the second consecutive quarter of annual decline in sales in the manufacturing sector, the data showed.
In the first three quarters of this year, the combined revenues from the nation’s manufacturing sector totaled NT$19.4 trillion, down 2.5 percent from the same period last year, the ministry said.
“Low crude oil and stainless steel prices was the main factor. The weaker-than-expected international economy also dragged down the sector’s revenues this year,” Yang said.
He said that the nation’s petrochemical and stainless steel industries suffered the most due to falling prices, adding that the average cost of flat-panel and DRAM products also affected the overall revenue performance of the manufacturing sector.
On a quarterly basis, computer-electronics goods and optical components were the highlights in Taiwan’s manufacturing sector last quarter, Yang said.
Yang said sales reached a record high of NT$2.33 trillion last quarter, thanks to the launch of a series of Apple Inc products that drove the performance of Taiwan’s contract electronics makers.
Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), one of Apple’s iPhone assemblers, reported revenues of NT$1.06 trillion last quarter, while Pegatron Corp (和碩), another iPhone assembler, posted sales of NT$311.84 billion over the same period.
Yang said total revenues of the manufacturing sector this quarter might still decline from last year’s NT$7.42 trillion due to a higher base, but the ministry expects Taiwan’s contract electronics makers’ strong performance to extend to this quarter and slightly offset the weakness of other industries in the manufacturing sector.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
DOWNFALL: The Singapore-based oil magnate Lim Oon Kuin was accused of hiding US$800 million in losses and leaving 20 banks with substantial liabilities Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin (林恩強) has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (興隆貿易) and his children Lim Huey Ching (林慧清) and Lim Chee Meng (林志朋) were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on Dec. 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte Ltd are the trustees, according to the gazette. At its peak, Hin Leong traded a range of oil products, made lubricants and operated loading
The growing popularity of Chinese sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks has shaken up Mexico’s luxury car market, hitting sales of traditionally dominant brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Mexicans are increasingly switching from traditionally dominant sedans to Chinese vehicles due to a combination of comfort, technology and price, industry experts say. It is no small feat in a country home to factories of foreign brands such as Audi and BMW, and where until a few years ago imported Chinese cars were stigmatized, as in other parts of the world. The high-end segment of the market registered a sales drop
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
RSS