Taiwan’s Exports Fall Least in 11 Months in September

By Janet Ong

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan’s exports fell at the slowest pace in 11 months in September on improved demand for telephones, computers and electronic goods from China.

Overseas shipments dropped 12.7 percent from a year earlier, after a 24.6 percent decline in August, the Ministry of Finance said in Taipei today. That was the least since an 8.3 percent fall last October and lower than the median estimate of nine economists surveyed by Bloomberg for a 15.6 percent decline. The island posted a trade surplus of $2.55 billion last month as imports slid 21.1 percent.

Taiwan joins other export-driven economies in Asia including Singapore and South Korea in reporting an easing in the decline of overseas shipments as the global economy recovers. Increased Chinese demand for electronic goods from companies including Nanya Technology Corp. and AU Optronics Corp. was partly offset by a fall in sales to the U.S. and Europe.

“Demand from the U.S. and Europe is likely to remain sluggish until November and December when companies start to replenish inventory,” said Tony Phoo, a Taipei-based economist at Standard Chartered Plc. “China is still the main supporter for Asian exporters such as Taiwan, Korea and Singapore.”

Exports, which account for more than two-thirds of the island’s economy, may turn positive in the fourth quarter, Lin Lee-jen, director of the Finance Ministry’s statistics bureau, said in July. South Korea’s exports fell at the slowest pace in 11 months in September, while Singapore’s dropped the least since September 2008 in August.

IMF Forecasts

Asia’s developing economies will expand 7.3 percent in 2010 after growing 6.2 percent this year, the International Monetary Fund said last week. Advanced economies including the U.S., Germany and Japan will shrink 3.4 percent in 2009, it forecast.

Today’s figures were released after the close of trading on the stock exchange. The Taiex index rose 1 percent to close at 7,608.66. The Taiwan dollar closed unchanged at NT$32.18 versus the U.S. dollar as of 4 p.m. local time, according to Taipei Forex Inc.

China’s 4 trillion yuan ($586 billion) stimulus package and subsidies for rural electronics are spurring domestic consumption. The nation’s manufacturing expanded at the fastest pace in 17 months in September on stimulus spending and record growth in new loans in August.

China Exports

Exports to China, Taiwan’s biggest overseas market, rose 2.1 percent from a year earlier, after an 18.5 percent drop in August, the ministry said. Shipments to the U.S. declined 28.2 percent, from a drop of 34.4 percent in August, while sales to Europe fell 20.4 percent compared with a decline of 28.3 percent.

Nanya Technology, Taiwan’s biggest computer-memory chipmaker, reported sales in September rose 38.6 percent from a year ago. The Taoyuan-based company, whose customers include Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc., on Sept. 21 said it plans to raise prices by as much as 20 percent in the first half of October because of a shortage.

AU Optronics, the island’s largest maker of liquid-crystal display panels used in televisions and computers, reported August sales climbed 15.9 percent from the previous month to NT$36.9 billion ($1.2 billion).

Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan said last week he plans to maintain low borrowing costs because of the slow pace of economic recovery. The central bank left borrowing costs unchanged on Sept. 24 after cutting the benchmark rate seven times since late September 2008 to a record 1.25 percent.

Exports of electronic products including semiconductors slid 3.7 percent last month after falling 13.4 percent in August, today’s report showed. Shipments of information technology and communication products including mobile phones, fell 17.5 percent, less than August’s 27.7 percent decline.

To contact the reporter on this story: Janet Ong in Taipei at jong3@bloomberg.net.