A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Taiwanese Outlook Positive Despite Pandemic The COVID-19 situation in Taiwan continues to be severe, with the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reporting between 250-400 new cases per day, as well as a continuing backlog of cases due to…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Taiwan’s COVID-19 situation has quickly become more serious in recent days. Following a cluster infection in late April connected to China Airlines flight crew, local cases began increasing significantly for several days in succession, mostly in the north…
By Austin Babb and Jason Wu Exports Climb as FOREX Reserves Fall The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in April raised its forecast of Taiwan’s 2021 GDP growth to 4.7%, much higher than the 3.2% figure it provided last October. The organization’s biannual World Economic Outlook report cited a “stronger than anticipated rebound” of the global…
Business & Economic Optimism Abound February was a down month for manufacturers in Taiwan this year, according to the results of a monthly business outlook survey conducted by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER). It makes sense: February is already the shortest month of the year. Add to that the fact that both the…
A weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Higher growth forecasts meet concerns of overheating As the first quarter comes to a close, many economic institutions are raising their forecasts for Taiwan’s 2021 economic growth. On March 24, the Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute projected annual GDP growth…
By Austin Babb and Jason Wu Forecasts Rise, As Do Exports Prospects continue to look positive for Taiwan’s economy in 2021. The National Development Council (NDC) forecast in mid-February that Taiwan’s GDP could expand by more than 4% this year. A few days later, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) upgraded its own…
This year’s Business Climate Survey results indicated a record high level of optimism in the Taiwan economy among our member companies. Nearly 86% were confident about Taiwan’s economic growth in the next 12 months – up from around 60% one year ago. Such an outlook may seem counterintuitive given the impact of COVID-19 (80% of…
Taiwan has capitalized on the U.S.-China trade dispute and superb pandemic control to revitalize its position as a technology hub. In less than three years’ time, Taiwan has rejuvenated its position in global supply chains. The exodus of manufacturers to China is ancient history. Instead, many of them have been choosing to come home, first…
By Austin Babb and Jason Wu Sustained Growth Expected in 2021 While the combined effects of COVID-19 and the U.S.-China trade dispute caused many economies to contract in 2020, Taiwan boasted GDP growth of a projected 2.54%, 0.98 percentage points higher than forecasts made earlier in the year. This growth can be attributed primarily to…
A bi-weekly snapshot of Taiwan business news stories brought to you by CommonWealth and AmCham Taiwan’s TOPICS Pegatron enters Tesla supply chain Apple supplier Pegatron has recently expanded its cooperation with U.S. car producer Tesla. According to news sources, Pegatron has recently entered Tesla’s charging station supply chain and is expected to move into mass…
