GLOBAL STRUGGLES:The weak figure increases the odds that Taiwan will report a negative growth rate in export orders this year for the first time since 2009
Taipei Times
Date: Sep 22, 2015
By: Lisa Wang / Staff reporter
Export orders fell at a higher-than-expected rate of 8.3 percent year-on-year last month on sluggish demand for consumer electronics products primarily in China, which does not bode well for the nation’s economic growth this quarter, statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs yesterday showed.
The outlook for this month is bleak as the decline in export orders is expected to accelerate to a double-digit percentage on an annual basis due to a higher base in September last year and uncertainty over demand for Apple Inc’s new iPhone 6S, the ministry said.
“Strong demand for the global brand’s new phone helped lift export orders by US$5 billion in September last year, but it is hard to see such a strong boost in light of the small specification upgrade,” Department of Statistics Director-General Lin Lee-jen (林麗貞) said. [FULL STORY]