Focus Taiwan
Date: 09/01/2020
By: Pan Tzu-yu and Evelyn Kao

Taipei, Sept. 1 (CNA) Taiwan's manufacturing activity expanded rapidly in August as export orders continued to pick up as the COVID-19 crisis appeared to be abating, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) reported Tuesday.

The seasonally adjusted manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) registered 56 in August, an increase of 1.9 points from the previous month, marking an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the second consecutive month and the sector's fastest rate of expansion since January this year, according to the CIER, one of Taiwan's leading economic think tanks.

The non-manufacturing index (NMI) for Taiwan's service sector, meanwhile, also rose in August by 2.1 points from a month earlier to 59.4, the strongest expansion since the data started to be compiled in August 2014, according to the CIER.

For the PMI and NMI, readings above 50 indicate expansion or growth, while those below that threshold represent contraction.    [FULL  STORY]