The economy continued to slow last month, with the index of leading indicators down 1.1 percent from November, when it fell 1.3 percent, according to official figures released yesterday.
The original reading of the November index of leading indicators, designed to measure economic activity three months ahead, was a 1.5 percent month-on-month decline, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said.
Last month's index of coincident indicators, which measure the current pace of economic activity, fell 2.4 percent from November, when it was down 0.1 percent.
The total score of monitored indicators for last month fell to 25 points from 28 points in November, signaling a "green light" that points to steady growth of the economy, the council added.
The CEPD uses a five-level spectrum to gauge domestic economic health, with blue indicating recession, yellow-blue a slowdown, green steady growth, yellow-red a slight overheating and red an absolute overheating. The index has been at the "green light" level since October, easing down from "yellow-red" levels in the previous four months. In May, the indicator flashed the first "red" light reading since December 1994 before moderating in June.
Looking ahead, the economy is expected to maintain normal growth as domestic consumption and new infrastructure projects should offset a slowdown in the global economy, the CEPD said.
Most domestic companies feel that it will be business as usual during the first quarter of this year, with pessimistic and optimistic views accounting for only about 15 percent each, according to government poll released yesterday.
According to the survey results made public by the CEPD, 72 percent of companies questioned last month were neutral about their business outlook in the first quarter of this year, while 11 percent were positive and 17 percent negative.
The 72 percent of companies expressing a neutral stance reflected an increase of 4 percent over the November level, while the ratios for pessimists and optimists were down by 3 percent and 1 percent, respectively.
Last month, sales in the manufacturing sector declined by 1.9 percent in value month-to-month, but grew 13.5 percent year-on-year. Total export order value dropped by 1.9 percent compared with the November figure but rose by 15.1 percent on an annual basis.
At the same time, last month's industry capacity utilization rate averaged 80.3 percent, up 0.2 percent from the previous month but down 0.1 percent from a year ago. Average business return rates stood at 4.8 percent, a fall of 0.1 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, as compared to the ratios for November and a year earlier.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) halted shipments to a customer this month after its semiconductors were sent to China’s Huawei Technologies Co (華為), potentially breaching US sanctions, a government official said. The US slapped sanctions on Huawei in 2019, and expanded them the following year, over fears its technology could be used for Beijing’s espionage operations. The restrictions prevent TSMC from selling semiconductors to Huawei. However, TSMC discovered on Oct. 11 that chips made for a “specific customer” had ended up with the Chinese company, a Taiwanese official with knowledge of the incident said on the condition of anonymity. TSMC “immediately activated
US SANCTIONS: The Taiwan tech giant has ended all shipments to China-based Sophgo Technologies after one of their chips was discovered in a Huawei phone Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) suspended shipments to China-based chip designer Sophgo Technologies Ltd (算能科技) after a chip it made was found on a Huawei Technologies Co (華為) artificial intelligence (AI) processor, according to two people familiar with the matter. Sophgo had ordered chips from TSMC that matched the one found on Huawei’s Ascend 910B, the people said. Huawei is restricted from buying the technology to protect US national security. Reuters could not determine how the chip ended up on the Huawei product. Sophgo said in a statement on its Web site yesterday that it was in compliance with all laws
TECH TITANS: Nvidia briefly overtook Apple again on Friday after becoming the world’s largest company for a short period in June, as Microsoft fell to third place Nvidia Corp dethroned Apple Inc as the world’s most valuable company on Friday following a record-setting rally in the stock, powered by insatiable demand for its specialized artificial intelligence (AI) chips. Nvidia’s stock market value briefly touched US$3.53 trillion, slightly above Apple’s US$3.52 trillion, London Stock Exchange Group data showed. Nvidia ended the day up 0.8 percent, with a market value of US$3.47 trillion, while Apple’s shares rose 0.4 percent, valuing the iPhone maker at US$3.52 trillion. In June, Nvidia briefly became the world’s most valuable company before it was overtaken by Microsoft Corp and Apple. The tech trio’s market capitalizations have been
Shares of Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) surged more than 53 percent on its debut on the Taiwan stock exchange yesterday. Starlux shares closed up 53.75 percent at NT$30.75 from its initial public offering price of NT$20 after retreating in late trading from a 60 percent rise. China Airlines Ltd (CAL, 中華航空) rose 0.90 percent to close at NT$22.35, while EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) gained 0.40 percent to close at NT$37.70. In Taiwan, a newly listed stock is allowed to go beyond the 10 percent maximum increase or decline in its first five trading sessions. At the listing ceremony, Starlux chairman Chang Kuo-wei (張國煒) said
RSS