Apple helps Taiwan export orders resume growth in August, mixed outlook

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TAIPEI — Taiwan’s export orders rose unexpectedly in August on strong demand for technology and launches of new consumer electronics like iPhones, even as the island’s biggest market, China, faced continued headwinds.

But the government said the outlook was mixed due to a range of uncertainties including high global inflation, growing geopolitical risks and new strains of COVID-19.

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Export orders, an indicator of global technology demand, rose 2% in August from a year earlier to $54.59 billion, a record for the month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday. Economic affairs. Analysts had expected a decline of 2%.

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August’s rise followed a 1.9% annual contraction in July.

Orders for telecommunications products rose 3.1% in August from a year ago, mainly due to cell phone orders, the ministry said. Apple Inc, for which many Taiwanese companies make components, put its latest iPhones on sale this month.

Electronics orders jumped 15.4 percent, driven by demand for semiconductors for high-end computing, automobiles and storage of new consumer electronics, the ministry said.

Kevin Wang, an economist at Taishin Securities Investment Advisory Co, said while the « reduction » in Apple orders was a boon, the rest of 2022 might not be as good, coming off a high base year-on-year. latest and with heightened downside risks in China and Europe in particular.

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A trend of working and studying from home that began during the COVID-19 pandemic has fueled growth in Taiwanese electronics orders for more than two years. More recently, a global shortage of semiconductors has also filled the order books of Taiwanese chipmakers.

The ministry said it expected export orders this month to be 7% to 9.4% lower than September 2021.

He said even with all the uncertainty, new consumer electronics from “various international brands”, as well as demand for high-end computing, 5G and automotive electronics, would help export orders. to remain stable in the future.

Taiwanese companies such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd are major suppliers to Apple, Qualcomm Inc and other global technology companies.

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Taiwan’s orders from China in August fell 25.5% from a year earlier, compared with a 22.6% annual decline in July. Month over month, orders from China edged down 0.1%.

China’s economy narrowly escaped contraction last quarter due to widespread COVID-19 lockdowns, and economists say its nascent recovery risks running out of steam amid fresh virus outbreaks and a deep crisis in the real estate sector.

Taiwan’s orders from the United States rose 7.5% from a year earlier, a faster pace than the 6.9% rise the previous month.

Europe’s export orders rose 14.6% from an annual contraction of 5.1% in July, while Japan’s rose 2.2%. (Reporting by Emily Chan and Ben Blanchard; Additional reporting by Liang-sa Loh; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)