AmCham Taipei’s Private Equity Committee suspended operations in late 2017 in frustration over the difficulty PE firms were facing in Taiwan in gaining approval for investment applications. In a number of cases over the previous six years, investment plans by PE companies had been either rejected outright or stalled so long that the prospective investor…
Taiwan needs to be prepared to face a challenging year in 2019. That’s one of several key messages from AmCham Taipei’s recently released Business Climate Survey. Notably fewer of our member executives – about 45% compared to 55% a year ago — expressed confidence in the economic outlook for the coming 12 months. Significantly, however,…
Feeling the Pinch With the global trade environment growing increasingly uncertain, Taiwan recorded exports worth US$28.6 billion in December, 3% less than in the same month a year earlier. The Ministry of Finance attributed the dip largely to sluggish demand for semiconductors used in manufacturing smartphones. New export orders received in December told a similar…
More Mixed Signals The release of Taiwan’s September trade figures brought some good news – a record monthly level for exports – but any exuberance was dimmed by uncertainties about the potential impact of the “trade war” being waged between the United States and China, given the large number of Taiwanese enterprises with production facilities…
U.S.-China Trade War Draws Attention News reports indicate that at a number of Taiwanese firms are considering abandoning their Chinese production bases and returning to Taiwan to avoid being caught in the U.S.-China trade war. Although Taiwan has not been directly targeted by either country, many Taiwanese manufacturers have moved their production sites to China,…
Positive Indications on the Trade Front Given Taiwan’s heavy reliance on international trade for its economic momentum, the past several weeks brought some encouraging news. Announcement of Taiwan’s trade figures for July showed that exports had continued to increase for the fifth consecutive month. At US$29.36 billion, export value in July was 4.7% higher than…
Higher GDP Growth Seen on Rising Exports The Taiwan economy is expected to experience higher growth this year due to improved levels of demand on world markets. The Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute, a Taipei economic think tank, raised its 2018 GDP growth forecast from 2.4% to 2.55% based on increased export activity. The government’s Directorate General…
Momentum Continues On Export Growth The Taiwan economy continued its upward momentum through the first quarter of 2018 as exports maintained their double digit gains, unemployment stayed low, and consumer and business confidence remained high. On the back of International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts of rising global trade and growth, analysts expect Taiwan’s trade impetus to…
The Five Shortages refers to Taiwan’s lack of sufficient land, water, power, manpower, and talent to meet its need for continuing economic growth. The term was first coined by the Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) in its 2015 white paper, and the umbrella organization of Taiwanese manufacturing associations continues to call upon the government…
Exports Experience a Slight Weakening Taiwan’s export streak finally came to an end in February after 16 straight months of gains when exports declined by a slight of 1.2% for the month, mostly attributed to Chinese New Year holiday which this year fell on February 15-20. The months of January and February are generally considered…
