The business outlook for Taiwan’s manufacturing, service and construction industries is unpromising. That’s the word from a survey out Tuesday by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER).
The survey shows that indicators for the manufacturing and service industries continued to drop in October for the third month in a row. The sluggish sentiment is mostly due to the slow growth in the euro zone, continued economic cooldown in China, and the lackluster domestic demand in Japan and South Korea. TIER also said the gradual contraction of the economic growth in ASEAN also add more uncertainties.
TIER economist Gordon Sun spoke on Taiwan’s situation. Sun said, “The third straight drop will affect the fourth quarter of this year and the first quarter of next year. Fortunately, the first quarter is not the peak season for exports and the growth in the first three months of this year will prop up GDP growth to around 3.4%. But we are concerned if the downward trend continues through next year, it may affect the first half of next year.”
TIER also said the outlook for the construction industry in December is unlikely to be promising due to the government’s efforts to keep housing prices in check.