Manufacturing sector sentiment improves in July

Focus Taiwan
Date: 2018/08/24
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang 

Taipei, Aug. 24 (CNA) Local manufacturing sector sentiment toward the business climate improved in July at a time when the electronics industry has entered a peak season for the year, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said Friday.

TIER, one of Taiwan’s leading think tanks, said the July composite index for the manufacturing sector rose 1.35 points from a month earlier to 101.74 as many export-oriented manufacturers benefited from solid global demand for tech devices in the month.

The latest composite index for the manufacturing sector came after Taiwan reported an almost 5 percent year-on-year increase in exports in July. In the month, Taiwanese electronic component firms sold US$9.33 billion-worth of goods overseas, up 7.2 percent from a year earlier, on the back of solid demand for semiconductors, exports of which increased 7.0 percent year-on-year to US$7.97 billion.

In addition, the industrial production index for July rose 4.43 percent from a year earlier with the sub-index for the manufacturing sector, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the total, up 5.01 percent in the month.   [FULL  STORY]