Nearly half of respondents pointed to new waves of COVID-19 outbreaks as the biggest risk for Taiwan’s economy next year, a survey released on Monday by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) showed.
The survey, which was conducted earlier this month among 18,666 respondents, found that 48.5 percent expected new waves of COVID-19 infections next year to hit the nation’s GDP growth.
According to the poll, 28.4 percent were concerned that escalating US-China trade tensions would affect Taiwan’s economy and 9.4 percent were worried that the reshaping of global supply chains would undercut companies’ profits.
The survey found that 34.3 percent of respondents expected global monetary and fiscal policies to have the biggest effect on Taiwan’s equity market next year, followed by the US stock market at 23.8 percent and stability in cross-strait relations with 20.3 percent, the survey showed.
About 35 percent of respondents expect the TAIEX to fall over the next six months, while 31.2 percent forecast the index to continue its rally, the survey found.
The results compared with 36.1 percent and 33.6 percent respectively who felt so a month earlier, Cathay Financial said.
Regarding the outlook of the job market, 44 percent of respondents said they expect the employment situation to worsen and 16.9 expected a raise in their salary over the next six months, compared with 47 percent and 15.8 percent respectively who felt so a month earlier, the survey showed.
As most consumers used their Triple Stimulus Vouchers in July or last month, consumers’ willingness to make big-ticket purchases or buy durable goods has weakened from one month earlier, Cathay Financial said.
SMART MANUFACTURING: The company aims to have its production close to the market end, but attracting investment is still a challenge, the firm’s president said Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said its long-term global production plan would stay unchanged amid geopolitical and tariff policy uncertainties, citing its diversified global deployment. With operations in Taiwan, Thailand, China, India, Europe and the US, Delta follows a “produce at the market end” strategy and bases its production on customer demand, with major site plans unchanged, Delta president Simon Chang (張訓海) said on the sidelines of a company event yesterday. Thailand would remain Delta’s second headquarters, as stated in its first-quarter earnings conference, with its plant there adopting a full smart manufacturing system, Chang said. Thailand is the firm’s second-largest overseas
‘REMARKABLE SHOWING’: The economy likely grew 5 percent in the first half of the year, although it would likely taper off significantly, TIER economist Gordon Sun said The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) yesterday raised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast for this year to 3.02 percent, citing robust export-driven expansion in the first half that is likely to give way to a notable slowdown later in the year as the front-loading of global shipments fades. The revised projection marks an upward adjustment of 0.11 percentage points from April’s estimate, driven by a surge in exports and corporate inventory buildup ahead of possible US tariff hikes, TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy likely grew more than 5 percent in the first six months
SUPPLY RESILIENCE: The extra expense would be worth it, as the US firm is diversifying chip sourcing to avert disruptions similar to the one during the pandemic, the CEO said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) on Wednesday said that the chips her company gets from supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would cost more when they are produced in TSMC’s Arizona facilities. Compared with similar parts from factories in Taiwan, the US chips would be “more than 5 percent, but less than 20 percent” in terms of higher costs, she said at an artificial intelligence (AI) event in Washington. AMD expects its first chips from TSMC’s Arizona facilities by the end of the year, Su said. The extra expense is worth it, because the company is
The seizure of one of the largest known mercury shipments in history, moving from mines in Mexico to illegal Amazon gold mining zones, exposes the wide use of the toxic metal in the rainforest, according to authorities. Peru’s customs agency, SUNAT, found 4 tonnes of illegal mercury in Lima’s port district of Callao, according to a report by the non-profit Environmental Investigations Agency (EIA). “This SUNAT intervention has prevented this chemical from having a serious impact on people’s health and the environment, as can be seen in several areas of the country devastated by the illegal use of mercury and illicit activities,”
RSS