Taiwanese exports increase 16.5% in June on electronics

[HenryTo]

Following article courtesy of China Post. This is good evidence that tech and capital spending should be find going forward.
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Exports increase 16.5% in June on electronics

2006/7/8
By Theresa Tang and James Peng Bloomberg

Taiwan's exports rose at the fastest pace in eight months in June as companies including Via Technologies Inc. sold more electronics parts to the U.S., Europe and China.

Overseas sales increased 16.5 percent from a year earlier to US$18.1 billion after gaining 10.5 percent in May, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement in Taipei. That beat the median 12.5 percent forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 19 economists.

Economies including Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong are benefiting as consumers in the U.S. and Europe buy more Asian electronics. Stronger-than-expected exports prompted Taiwan's government to raise a forecast for economic growth in May.

"There is a genuine improvement in actual demand," said Joseph Lau, an economist at Credit Suisse Group in Hong Kong. "Exports for this whole year will be better than last year."

Taiwan's imports rose 12 percent to US$16.9 billion in June after climbing 12.3 percent the previous month, leaving a trade surplus of US$1.22 billion. Imports were expected to grow 12.8 percent, the Bloomberg survey showed.

Via Technologies Inc., Taiwan's biggest maker of personal computer chipsets, on July 3 said sales in June climbed 17 percent from a year earlier. The Taipei based company gets about 60 percent of its sales from overseas markets.

Exports of computer chips and other electronic parts increased 29 percent last month to US$4.92 billion after climbing 27.5 percent in May, today's statement showed. Exports of information technology and telecommunications products rose 3.6 percent to US$842 million after sliding 13 percent in May.

Compal Electronics Inc., the world's second largest notebook computer maker, yesterday said sales in June rose 20 percent from a year earlier to NT$22.6 billion (US$697 million).

Rising spending in Japan and Europe, underpinned by falling unemployment, is bolstering demand for Taiwan's electronics. Japan's unemployment rate fell to an eight-year low in May and wages rose for a fourth straight month.

In France, Europe's third-largest economy, consumer confidence rose in June as unemployment declined, the country's statistics office said June 30.

Sales to Europe gained 14 percent to US$1.91 billion in June from a year earlier after rising 1.1 percent in the previous month. Exports to Japan rose 13 percent to US$1.31 billion after increasing 1.4 percent in May.

Taiwan's exports to the U.S., the island's No. 2 overseas market after China, increased 5.8 percent to US$2.56 billion in June after rising 9.4 percent the previous month, today's report showed. Americans were more confident in June for the first time in three months as a decline in gasoline prices left them with more to spend on other goods, a survey released on June 30 showed.

The average price of a gallon of regular gasoline fell to US$2.87 this month, according to the American Automobile Association, after reaching a seven-month high of US$2.93 in mid-May.

Exports to China and Hong Kong jumped 16 percent last month from a year earlier to US$7.04 billion after gaining 15 percent in May. Goods are shipped through Hong Kong because of restrictions on trade and transportation between Taiwan and mainland China.