Taiwan’s December exports beat forecasts; Government sees stable outlook on AI By Reuters

By Faith Hung and Roger Tung

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s exports rose more than expected in December, supported by robust demand for semiconductors from the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and continued, although more weak demand from China.

Exports rose 9.2% from the same month a year ago to $43.59 billion, their second-highest level, the finance ministry said Thursday, beating a forecast of 6.5% growth in a Reuters poll. The increase, although slightly below the November gain of 9.7%, marked the 14th consecutive month of growth.

The ministry said the growth outlook in the first quarter was stable due to semiconductor demand for AI, but said January exports could fall between 1% and 4% year-on-year due to the long Chinese Lunar New Year holiday.

People in China usually travel to their hometowns before the festival, which begins on January 29 this year, and many businesses close for an extended period.

China is Taiwan’s largest trading partner.

The fourth quarter is traditionally strong for Taiwan’s exports due to the peak of the year-end shopping season in the United States and Europe.

Taiwanese companies such as TSMC, the world’s largest contract chip maker, are major suppliers to Apple (NASDAQ: ), Nvidia (NASDAQ: ) and other tech giants.

In December, exports to the United States increased 16.0% year-on-year to $9.845 billion, versus a gain of 10.6% in November.

Exports to China rose 3.6%, slowing after a 9.5% jump the previous month. China’s $18 trillion economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic and manufacturing activity grew only slightly in December, according to official Chinese data.

Taiwan’s total exports of electronic components rose 8.6% in December of the year to $17.21 billion, with semiconductor exports up 9.4%.

Imports rose 30.4% to $37.51 billion in December, faster than economists’ forecasts for a 15.1% gain.