Models present lingeries bearing the MIT logo, which stands for Made in Taiwan, at a promotional fashion show held inside the headquarters of the foreign trade authorities in Taipei yesterday. The presentation is part of a campaign to boost Taiwan's struggling export industries seriously hurt by the global economic downturn last year. Government statistics show that the situation has improved since then. CNA

TAIPEI: Taiwan's export orders climbed for a second consecutive month in November as demand for the island's semiconductors, television screens and computers rose.

Orders, which provide an indication of shipments in the next one to three months, rose 37.11 percent from a year earlier, after a 4.41 percent gain in October, the "Ministry of Economic Affairs" said in Taipei Wednesday. The median estimate of 10 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 38.06 percent advance.

Taiwan is dependent on a revival of exports, which make up more than half of its economy, to recover from a year-long recession. Increasing demand for electronics prompted Quanta Computer Inc to forecast rising shipments next year and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the island's biggest company by market value, to boost capital spending in 2010.

"Taiwan's electronics companies have been posting monthly revenue increases in November from October, and that shows a recovery in demand," said Alan Liao, an economist at Chinatrust Commercial Bank in Taipei. "We expect the growth momentum to continue on a strengthening economic recovery."

The mainland economy, Taiwan's biggest export market, expanded 8.9 percent last quarter from a year earlier, the fastest pace in a year, spurring sales for electronics makers including Mediatek Inc, Taiwan's largest producer of handset chips.

AU Optronics Corp, Taiwan's biggest maker of screens for televisions, is also seeking to expand production next year through acquisitions or construction of additional facilities.

Gross domestic product shrank 1.29 percent in the three months through September, the slowest pace in a year, after contracting a revised 6.85 percent in the second quarter. GDP will probably rise 4.39 percent in 2010, after falling 2.53 percent this year, the Executive Yuan's statistics bureau said November 26.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou's administration has planned NT$858.5 ($26.5 billion) of spending over four years, or about 6 percent of GDP, on infrastructure, consumer grants and tax cuts to help revive the economy.

Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan was expected to keep interest rates unchanged at a record-low 1.25 percent when the board met yesterday, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The bank cut borrowing costs by 2.375 percentage points from September 2008 to February to try to boost the economy.

Industrial production rose 31.46 percent in November from a year earlier, Wednesday's report showed.

Morris Chang, chairman and chief executive officer of Taiwan Semiconductor, the world's largest custom-chip maker, said this month 2010 capital spending will be "much higher" than $2.7 billion budgeted for this year.

The company, considered a barometer for the industry because it makes chips for everything from mobile phones to medical equipment, said this week it will raise the base salary for all employees by 15 percent from next year as part of structural changes to the way it compensates workers.

Quanta, the world's largest maker of notebook computers by revenue, posted third-quarter profits that beat analysts' estimates. The company, whose clients include Apple Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co, expects laptop shipments to rise 40 percent to 50 million next year.

The value of export orders was $31.26 billion last month, compared with $31.75 billion in October, Wednesday's report showed.

Export orders to the mainland and Hong Kong combined increased 73.32 percent last month, compared with a gain of 19.6 percent in October. Orders from the US climbed 28.27 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 0.67 percent gain in October.

Demand from the US, Taiwan's second-largest export market, is improving as the economy recovers from the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

Orders for electronics rose 43.23 percent last month, compared with an increase of 4.07 percent in October, Wednesday's report showed. Demand for information technology and communications products climbed 33.91 percent in November, after rising 5.63 percent the previous month.

On wednesday, the "Ministry of Economic Affairs" reported that Taiwan's industrial production index for November rose 31.46 percent year-on-year, growing for the third consecutive month.

The industrial production index stood at 108.78 in November - representing the highest year-on-year growth since August 1978 - an increase that the MOEA attributed to the low base last year and the recovery of the global economy.

Production in the motor vehicle and parts industry increased the most, at 71.69 percent, while chemical material production rose 63.45 percent, and electronic parts and components climbed 60.96 percent, the statistics show.

MOEA Statistics Department Director-General Huang Chi-shi attributed the sharp growth in the auto industry to rebounding consumer demand. The number of vehicle registrations in November rose to 31,000 - more than 140 percent higher than 13,000 for the same month last year, he noted.

Huang forecast that the auto industry will continue to grow in December, as the current commodity tax reduction on auto purchases will expire at the end of this year.

Although industrial production in December is expected to show steady growth, the MOEA estimates that the rate for the year will be between -8 percent and -9 percent, Huang said.

China Daily/Agencies

(HK Edition 12/25/2009 page2)