Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) yesterday raised its forecast for the nation’s economic growth this year to 4.2 percent, up from the 3.2 percent it predicted in December last year, due to stronger-than-expected private investment and the improving global situation, it said.
The firm raised its prediction for private investment growth to 3.7 percent, as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, in January raised its capital expenditure to between US$25 billion and US$28 billion, it said.
Cathay Financial previously expected private investment to slow this year and grow 2.5 percent in light of a high comparison base last year.
Photo: Allen Wu, Taipei Times
TSMC’s investment could be a gauge for investment in the local technology industry, and its larger-than-expected investment indicated that overall investment is likely to retain healthy momentum this year, said Hsu Chih-chiang (徐之強), a professor of economics at National Central University who heads a research team commissioned by Cathay Financial.
Taiwanese firms would continue to benefit from strong demand for new technology applications and devices required to maintain a low-contact economy, Hsu said.
Meanwhile, with more countries beginning to distribute COVID-19 vaccinations, the global economy is expected to rebound, which would boost foreign consumption and Taiwan’s export orders, Hsu said.
“We predict that the nation’s exports are likely to remain strong in the first half of this year, but the pace of increase might slow in the second half due to a high comparison base last year,” he said.
Cathay Financial forecast that the central bank would keep benchmark interest rates unchanged this year, as the nation’s inflation is expected to remain mild, Hsu said.
“The local economy’s growing momentum and inflation pressure would increase the chance of the central bank raising rates, but on the other hand, volatility in the global financial system is expected to rise, which would trim the possibility of rate increases,” Hsu said.
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
‘SILVER LINING’: Although the news caused TSMC to fall on the local market, an analyst said that as tariffs are not set to go into effect until April, there is still time for negotiations US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he would likely impose tariffs on semiconductor, automobile and pharmaceutical imports of about 25 percent, with an announcement coming as soon as April 2 in a move that would represent a dramatic widening of the US leader’s trade war. “I probably will tell you that on April 2, but it’ll be in the neighborhood of 25 percent,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club when asked about his plan for auto tariffs. Asked about similar levies on pharmaceutical drugs and semiconductors, the president said that “it’ll be 25 percent and higher, and it’ll
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
CHIP BOOM: Revenue for the semiconductor industry is set to reach US$1 trillion by 2032, opening up opportunities for the chip pacakging and testing company, it said ASE Technology Holding Co (日月光投控), the world’s largest provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) services, yesterday launched a new advanced manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia, aiming to meet growing demand for emerging technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The US$300 million facility is a critical step in expanding ASE’s global footprint, offering an alternative for customers from the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea and China to assemble and test chips outside of Taiwan amid efforts to diversify supply chains. The plant, the company’s fifth in Malaysia, is part of a strategic expansion plan that would more than triple
RSS