More than 50 percent of German businesses in Taiwan said they were positive about the outlook for the Taiwanese economy, the German Trade Office Taipei’s Business Confidence Survey showed.
The strong economic growth Taiwan recorded last year and the country’s thriving industry sector have “fostered optimism among German companies regarding Taiwan’s economic outlook for 2025,” the office said on Thursday in a statement released with the annual survey.
The survey showed that 51.6 percent of respondents expected Taiwan’s economy to continue to improve this year, while 53.1 percent remained optimistic about the three-year outlook.
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
Taiwan reported GDP growth of 4.3 percent last year, a better-than-expected result and a three-year high, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics data released on Jan. 24 showed.
The performance of many German firms in Taiwan improved last year, trade office chief representative and executive director Eva Langerbeck told a news conference in Taipei.
The survey showed that 62.8 percent of companies reached their business targets last year, up 10 percentage points from 2023, the office said.
Taiwan remains an important market in Asia for German businesses, but they still face global and domestic challenges, Langerbeck said.
The survey showed that 63.2 percent of respondents listed Taiwan’s economic growth as their top concern, while 55.8 percent were worried about cross-strait relations.
It also highlighted concerns about stable energy supply expressed by 57.9 percent.
It said that “diversifying energy sources and building robust backup energy systems” were viable solutions.
There are also domestic challenges, including import restrictions and issues in tender processes, the report said.
For the first time since 2017, more German companies said that they would refrain from investing over the next two years (41.7 percent) than said they did plan to invest in the period (39.6 percent), the report said.
Taiwan’s economic performance has been supported by the involvement of German businesses in industries, notably the semiconductor and auto sectors, Ministry of Economic Affairs Department of Investment Promotion director-general Emile Chang (張銘斌) told the news conference.
Taiwan and Germany should work together to face challenges amid US President Donald Trump’s policy of increasing tariffs for the semiconductor industry, Chang said, citing President William Lai’s (賴清德) proposal to establish a “global semiconductor democratic supply chain partnership initiative.”
The German Trade Office Taipei is “part of the worldwide network of German Chambers of Commerce Abroad,” it says on its Web site.
The survey was conducted from Nov. 13 to Dec. 20 last year, the trade office said.
There was a “high” response rate, with 37 percent of the 260 eligible businesses contacted for the survey submitting valid responses, it said.
The survey was first conducted in 2012.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS