BY JULIA BERGSTRÖM AND HUNG-WEI CHEN Exports Up, Confidence Down Export orders grew in August, mainly due to the launch of new Apple products and increasing demand for new technologies, which supported a 2% year-on-year increase to US$54.59 billion, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA). This was the best-ever August performance by Taiwan’s…
BY JULIA BERGSTRÖM AND HUNG-WEI CHEN Taiwan Policy Act Passed By Senate Committee The U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee advanced the Taiwan Policy Act of 2022 (TPA) by a 17-5 vote on September 14. The bill has been described as “the most comprehensive restructuring of U.S. policy toward Taiwan since the Taiwan Relations Act (TRA)…
BY JULIA BERGSTRÖM Account Surplus, NTD Dip; CPI Hikes Taiwan’s current account surplus fell to its lowest in five quarters during Q2, as imports of semiconductor equipment, mineral products, and COVID-19 preventive items experienced a sharp increase, the Central Bank said. Data compiled by the Bank showed that the surplus in Taiwan’s current account, which mainly…
BY JULIA BERGSTRÖM Nancy Pelosi, Foreign Delegates Visit Taiwan U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan on August 2-3, to which China responded by launching military exercises around the island. The Speaker’s trip included meetings with President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Chairperson Mark Liu, and high-profile human rights…
By Sheherzad Jamal TSMC Stocks Tumble While Revenue Climbs TSMC stock prices in July reached their lowest value in the last two years at NT$433 per share. Goldman Sachs lowered its initial stock price target from NT$912 to NT$857 per share, noting that high inflation and a higher base period in 2022 are likely to…
By Sheherzad Jamal Palau Reaffirms Its Taiwan Commitment Despite sustained political pressure from China, Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. last month reaffirmed his commitment to upholding diplomatic relations with Taiwan. In an interview with Nikkei Asia at this year’s Pacific Islands Forum, which took place July 11-14, Whipps noted that while Palau has been “under…
By Courtney Donovan Smith Taishang Factories Disrupted by COVID-19 Taiwanese manufacturers in China, particularly those based in Shanghai and neighboring Kunshan, have suffered plant closures and supply chain issues due to China’s “dynamic zero-COVID” policies and the extended lockdown of the Shanghai region, widespread disruptions to trucking within China, and delays at the port of…
By Courtney Donovan Smith April Marks End to Zero-COVID Policy Locally transmitted cases in Taiwan have been rising exponentially since early April, as the Omicron variant began spreading across the island. Recognizing the variant’s infectiousness, the economic costs of the zero-COVID approach, and that almost all reported cases have been mild or asymptomatic, the government…
By Courtney Donovan Smith U.S. and Taiwan Discuss Bilateral Relations Though Taiwan was disappointed by the delay of an expected visit by U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi after she tested positive for COVID-19, other visits and meetings between Taiwan and the U.S. underscored the importance of the bilateral relationship as concerns grew that…
By Courtney Donovan Smith Experts Split On Economic Forecast Uncertainty about inflation and supply chain resilience have led various organizations to reach different projections about the economy’s direction this year. The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) in April raised its forecast of Taiwan’s 2022 GDP growth by 0.29 percentage points to 3.96%. CIER attributed…
