Taiwan's export orders surge 53 per cent in December

Taipei - Taiwan's export orders jumped for a third consecutive month in December, rising 52.63 per cent year-on-year on a gradual recovery of the global economy, the Economics Ministry said Wednesday. The island received foreign orders worth 31.73 billion US dollars in December, up 10.94 billion US dollars from the same period last year, and 470 million US dollars from November, the ministry said.

Orders from China, including from Hong Kong, increased 92.59 per cent year-on-year to 8.39 billion US dollars. The United States followed with 7.13 billion US dollars, up 26 per cent from a year earlier, and European Union came in third with 5.43 billion US dollars, up 34.4 per cent.

For the full year, export orders totaled 322.44 billion US dollars, down 8.33 per cent from 2008, as the global economy has picked up since the financial crisis hit in September 2008, the ministry said.

Global demand had reduced sharply resulting in a record 41.67-per-cent plunge in export orders in January 2009.

Export orders indicate deliveries three months in advance and are a key economic indicator.

Taiwan's economy depends on exports. About 40 per cent of its exports go to China, and analysts were predicting that improving Taipei-Beijing ties would result in China buying more of Taiwan's goods and sending more tourists to the island.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/304781,taiwans-export-orders-surge-53-per-cent-in-december.html.