TAIPEI: The manufacturing and service sectors in Taiwan have less confidence in future growth as economic uncertainties loom, a report showed Wednesday.
The confidence index for the manufacturing sector ended three months of consecutive increase by dropping 0.5 points to stand at 101.72 points in September, while that for the service sector also edged down, according to a report released by local think tank Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.
Only 19 percent of the surveyed manufacturers were upbeat about their sector’s growth in the next six months, down 5.5 percentage points from a month earlier, the report showed.
Growth of export orders is slowing and imports of semiconductor equipment have been falling at double-digit rates for five months, weighing on manufacturers’ outlook for their business despite record high exports in September.
Service sector sentiments also cooled in September with its index down 2.06 points compared with August. Majority of the service sector are cautiously optimistic about their future business expansion, the report showed.
