Consumer confidence edged up this month as people showed a little more optimism over the economy and purchases of durable goods, although they were gloomy over jobs and stock investment, a National Central University survey showed yesterday.
The consumer confidence index was 71.33, up 1.9 points from last month, driven by improving sentiment over the economic outlook, household income and purchases of durable goods, the survey showed.
“Taiwanese recovered some confidence over the economy because Taiwan has fared better than other nations in containing COVID-19,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for Taiwan Economic Development, which conducts the survey.
Domestic tourism has been boosted as overseas travel is highly restricted, shoring up business for retailers, hotels, restaurants and recreation facilities, Wu said.
Robust consumer activity helped offset the pain amid the pandemic, with demand for imported non-tech products rising, he said.
The sub-index on purchases of durable goods rose 12.8 points to 109, reflecting strong interest in buying vehicles and real estate, the survey showed.
Scores larger than 100 suggest confidence and values smaller than the threshold indicate pessimism.
The readings for household income and the economy gained 2.5 points and 2.2 points respectively from last month, the survey showed.
Taiwanese have neutral views about consumer prices in the next six months, while confidence in stock investments eroded further, with the sub-index shedding 4.1 points to 40, it said.
Rallies in the TAIEX and wild market volatility prompted investors to cash out and stay on the sidelines, Wu said.
The job-hunting outlook fell 2 points to 71.3, as people expect more difficulty in finding work, he said.
The survey polled 2,838 adults by telephone from Tuesday to Saturday last week. It has a margin of error of 2 percentage points.
PATENTS: MediaTek Inc said it would not comment on ongoing legal cases, but does not expect the legal action by Huawei to affect its business operations Smartphone integrated chips designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) on Friday said that a lawsuit filed by Chinese smartphone brand Huawei Technologies Co (華為) over alleged patent infringements would have little impact on its operations. In an announcement posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, MediaTek said that it would not comment on an ongoing legal case. However, the company said that Huawei’s legal action would have little impact on its operations. MediaTek’s statement came after China-based PRIP Research said on Thursday that Huawei filed a lawsuit with a Chinese district court claiming that MediaTek infringed on its patents. The infringement mentioned in the lawsuit likely involved
Taipei is today suspending work, classes and its US$2.4 trillion stock market as Typhoon Gaemi approaches Taiwan with strong winds and heavy rain. The nation is not conducting securities, currency or fixed income trading, statements from its stock and currency exchanges said. Authorities had yesterday issued a warning that the storm could affect people on land and canceled some ship crossings and domestic flights. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) expects its local chipmaking fabs to maintain normal production, the company said in an e-mailed statement. The main chipmaker for Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp said it has activated routine typhoon alert
GROWTH: TSMC increased its projected revenue growth for this year to more than 25 percent, citing stronger-than-expected demand for AI devices and smartphones The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year from 3.29 percent to 3.85 percent, as exports and private investment recovered faster than it predicted three months ago. The Taipei-based think tank also expects that Taiwan would see a 8.19 percent increase in exports this year, better than the 7.55 percent it projected in April, as US technology giants spent more money on artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure and development. “There will be more AI servers going forward, but it remains to be seen if the momentum would extend to personal computers, smartphones and
CHANGE OF FORTUNES: Concern over a pricey valuation and the risk of tighter US curbs on chip sales to China have poured cold water on TSMC’s bullish momentum Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) shares fell the most in three months yesterday upon trading resumption, joining a global technology rout as investors dramatically soured on the promises of artificial intelligence (AI). The shares declined 5.62 percent to close at NT$924 in Taipei, dragging down the benchmark TAIEX, which fell 3.29 percent to 22,119.21 points amid a technical correction, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed. Other chip stocks also fell, with ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控) plunging 9.86 percent, MediaTek Inc (聯發科) dropping 2.35 percent, Realtek Semiconductor Corp (瑞昱) falling 1.33 percent and United Microelectronics Corp (聯電) retreating 1.17 percent, while Apple