TAIPEI: Taiwan’s export orders fell far less than expected in September as the launch of Apple’s latest iPhones boosted demand for the island’s technology goods.
It was the sixth consecutive monthly fall, but the better-than-expected showing – export orders fell 4.5 per cent compared with a Reuters poll forecasting a 12.7 per cent drop – could signal the start of a turnaround for a struggling tech sector.
Taiwan’s export orders are seen as a leading indicator of demand for Asia’s exports and for hi-tech gadgets as they typically lead actual exports by two to three months.
Taiwan’s economics ministry said the new Apple smartphones were behind the better-than-expected figures and that October orders would probably be better than September’s value. It also said that the improvement in demand was also evident as companies’ inventories were falling.
At US$41.35 billion, September orders topped the US$35 billion recorded in August to reach a nine-month high.
That will give the trade-reliant economy some encouragement going into the final quarter, when year-end shopping usually picks up. But Taiwan still faces the prospect that its economy contracted in the third quarter.
The “Apple effect”, which helped Taiwan notch record export orders last year, won’t be doing the same for 2015 as it has come too late in the year.
“There is a chance for orders to return to growth by the end of this year,” said Aidan Wang, an analyst with Yuanta Consulting.
Many Taiwanese tech companies supply components that make up Apple gadgets. But many of them farm out production to factories they run on the mainland.
Among key categories, orders for electronics fell 5.6 per cent, better than the 8.1 per cent drop of August. Orders of information and communication goods rose 5.4 per cent, also better than August’s 4.7 per cent growth.
The depreciation of the Taiwan dollar to the US dollar helped orders, said Andrew Tsai, economist with KGI Securities Investment Advisory, who said orders grew 3.4 per cent when expressed in local dollar terms.
Orders from the mainland fell 9.8 per cent, improving on the 14.8 per cent drop in August. Orders from the United States rose 0.6 per cent, the same rate of gain as August.
