September’s export expansion was not an isolated incident, but sign of a nascent recovery that would grow more evident and reliable from this quarter as inventory adjustments draw to an end, Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) said yesterday.
Chuang shared her observations at a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee in which lawmakers raised concern over the health of Taiwan’s economy after exports slipped back into contraction mode in October.
“The positive growth in [September] exports is not transient, with export value forecast to exceed NT$30 billion [US$955 million] every month this quarter, lifting the full-year figure past the NT$400 billion mark, the third highest in history,” Chuang said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The Ministry of Finance is to release last month’s export data on Friday. It has forecast an uptick of 3 to 6 percent from a year earlier, supported by restocking demand ahead of the Christmas season and a sustained boom in artificial intelligence (AI) applications.
Taiwan is home to the world’s largest suppliers of electronics used in smartphones, personal computers and vehicles, as well as servers and graphic cards used in AI equipment and solutions.
Exports in the first 10 months of this year totaled NT$355.1 billion, making it easy for the full-year number to surpass the NT$400 billion threshold, Chuang said.
Major tech firms have also provided positive guidance for their business prospects this quarter and beyond, citing brightening end-market demand amid lingering uncertainty linked to geopolitical tensions, sticky inflation and restrictive monetary policies.
Chuang agreed that it was too early to be optimistic, and companies at home and abroad largely maintain a cautious approach.
Global research institutes expect the US to see an economic slowdown next year after putting up stronger-than-expected GDP showings this year. China poses another source of unease amid ongoing global supply chain realignment, capital outflows and risks linked to its property and financial sectors.
The two largest economies account for more than 50 percent of Taiwanese exports.
State-run banks have cut exposure to China to NT$214.3 billion, or a controllable 12 percent of their net worth, Chuang said.
The finance ministry will step up oversight of risk controls in state-run financial institutions to make sure they are well-equipped to deal with potential bad loans in the Chinese market, she said.
In addition, the ministry said its efforts to boost mobile payments among small retailers through tax breaks hit a snag as only 17,099 businesses signed on from 2018 to this year.
Mobile payments gained rapid growth initially, but soon slowed as small businesses voiced concern over transaction safety and increases in operating costs, it said.
Chuang said she would seek to gain a better understanding of the situation and introduce more effective stimulus measures.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS