Taiwanese firms last month showed more confidence about their six-month business outlook on expectations that demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications would benefit more sectors, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER, 台灣經濟研究院) said yesterday.
The sentiment gauge for local manufacturers printed 99.73, rising 1.07 points from a month earlier to a new 25-month high, as business is expected to flourish for chipmakers, thanks to the arrival of the high sales season for technology products, TIER economist Gordon Sun (孫明德) said.
Semiconductor firms are responsible for making chips used in AI, smartphones, high-performance computing and other applications.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
High-end servers would prove another bright spot, Sun said, adding that he is less certain about replacement demand for AI personal computers.
The Taipei-based think tank said that 28.2 percent of local manufacturers are upbeat about their business prospects, while 16.7 percent forecast their business to weaken.
That expectation is because an economic recovery remains uneven as some manufacturers are still struggling with inventory adjustments and sharp competition from regional peers, Sun said.
The challenge is particularly evident for non-tech companies, which have to cope with terminations of favorable tax terms from China, which is axing the number of items that qualified under the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, the economist said.
That explained why 70 percent of chemical product suppliers hold flat views about business going forward, while steel makers have unfavorable views, he said.
“It will take longer for all sectors to share the benefit of economic recovery,” he said.
Machinery equipment and base metal product makers are also positive, as inventory adjustments have come to an end and they stand to benefit from public works projects and a renewed property market, Sun said.
The confidence measure for service providers climbed 1.69 points to 97.44, augmenting for three months in a row, the institute said.
Consumer spending remained healthy, but growth momentum slowed somewhat after two consecutive years of “revenge consumption,” Sun said, adding that securities and fund houses put up strong showings on the back of the TAIEX climbing to new highs.
The sentiment readings for construction companies and real-estate brokers rose 2.89 points to 110.05, as housing transactions heated up, aided by interest subsidies and an economic recovery.
TIER said it is not sure if the uptrend could sustain as the Executive Yuan is reviewing favorable lending terms for first-home purchases.
Many have blamed a resurgence of rising housing prices on the government-backed stimulus program. The central bank in the middle of this month tightened its reserve ratio by 25 basis points.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$10.26 billion to finance the construction of its second fab in Kumamoto, Japan, and a second fab in Arizona, using advanced process technologies. The Department of Investment Review approved TSMC’s investment applications on the basis that Taiwan remains a major technology and manufacturing hub for the chipmaker, which makes its most advanced chips at home, the company operates its research-and-development center here and the majority of its capacity remains in Taiwan. The latest capital injections — US$5.26 billion for its Japanese venture Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing
DIVERSIFYING: Following customers’ demand to improve supply chain resilience, ASE is looking for sites in the US, Japan and Mexico, a company executive said ASE Technology Holding Co (ASE, 日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packaging and testing service provider, yesterday said it plans to launch a new high-end chip testing fab in the US next month to better serve its key customers based in North America, particularly California-based artificial intelligence (AI) customers. The new US testing facility would be operated by the firm’s subsidiary ISE Labs Inc, it said. ASE’s major customers, and high-ranking US officials and representatives from American Institute in Taiwan are to attend the fab’s opening ceremony on July 12, it said. ISE Labs last year acquired a 5,942m2 facility in San
Local companies believe that nearly a third of all job opportunities will vanish in 10 years due to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), according to a survey released by online job bank yes123 on Tuesday. In the survey of 1,016 companies on the labor market’s third quarter outlook, the job bank focused in part on AI’s impact on workers and asked companies what percentage of jobs they felt would be lost to AI’s round-the-clock productivity and high-speed computing prowess. Respondents felt on average that 29.2 percent of job opportunities would be lost to AI over the next 10 years, but there
Taiwanese workers earned an average of NT$47,000 per month this year, but 40 percent are struggling financially and 18 percent plan to switch jobs within 12 months, two separate surveys showed yesterday. The amount equals a 5.4 percent increase from a year earlier to a decade high, 104 Job Bank (104人力銀行) said. The government is due to review the nation’s minimum wages. Employees at computer and consumer electronics manufacturers reported the highest average monthly wage of NT$60,000 a month, followed by semiconductor firms at NT$59,000, and vendors of shoe and textile products, along with software and Internet businesses at NT$55,000, 104 Job