TAIPEI: Taiwan's export orders rose at a record pace in January as mainland companies built inventory ahead of the Chinese New Year, spurring demand for the island's computers, mobile phones and television screens.

Orders, an indication of shipments in the next one to three months, increased 71.8 percent from a year earlier, after a revised 53.1 percent gain in December, the "Ministry of Economic Affairs" (MOEA) said in Taipei yesterday. That was the most since records began in 1984. The median estimate of nine economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 79.9 percent gain.

Taiwan and mainland markets were shut for the nine-day Chinese New Year holiday in February, prompting companies on the mainland to boost orders to ensure sufficient stock. Taiwan is recovering from its deepest recession on record, with the economy expanding 9.2 percent in the three months through December after five consecutive quarters of contractions.

Lee Ming-han, chief strategist at Sinopac Bank in Taipei, said that the booming mainland economy is helping regional exporters like Japan, South Korea and Taiwan."

"Chinese New Year holiday demand also boosted orders in January because of inventory buildup," he noted.

Japan's exports climbed 40.9 percent in January, the fastest pace in almost 30 years, the Finance Ministry said yesterday in Tokyo.

The surge in Taiwan's export orders was also partly due to a favorable year-on-year comparison. In January 2009, overseas orders dropped 41.7 percent as demand was savaged in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. the previous September.

Stronger demand for electronics helped Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and United Microelectronics Corp, the world's largest makers of custom chips, post fourth-quarter profits that beat analysts' estimates and encouraged them to boost capital spending this year.

Taipei is negotiating a trade accord with Beijing that would cut import duties on Taiwanese goods in the world's fastest-growing major economy and help cement the recovery. Taiwan's statistics bureau this week raised its 2010 economic growth forecast to 4.72 percent from 4.39 percent.

China Daily/Bloomberg News

(HK Edition 02/26/2010 page3)