Forward-looking‧Professional‧International 
June 2013  
Global Uncertainties subside; domestic optimism betides
TIER survey results signal brighter outlook
Global economic uncertainties such as the debt crisis of Cyprus, tension in Korean Peninsula, and potential threat of H7N9 virus have gradually subsided. Exports and sales seemed recovered in Taiwan, despite the slowing down of China’s economic performance. The US Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke under pressure to spell out quantitative easing (QE) timeline; however the impacts would be mainly on the financial sectors only. QE has been recognized as a beggar-thy-neighbor measure by many; the end of QE should not be the end of recovery.
Taiwan’s external trade in May 2013 grew by 0.86% y-o-y due to the weakening European demand and depreciating Japanese Yen On the y-o-y basis, Taiwan’s exports to Japan reduced by 9.16% and dropped by 9.73% to Europe in May. The exports growth and imports decline in May made the trade surplus stand at US$ 4.46 billion or increase by 91.68% y-o-y. The cumulative trade surplus from January to May 2013 grew by 28.63% y-o-y.
On the subject of the supply side, the Taiwan Industrial production (IP) index in May 2013 declined by 0.07% y-o-y, and the manufacturing went down by 0.91% y-o-y that would be the 4th consecutive monthly decline. Although the IP has been slowing, the bright side is the growing demand for advanced manufacturing of semiconductors. In addition, there’s a lower base effect in June 2012. The IP is expected to spring back next month.

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A 25% growth expect in Taiwan’s tourism factory revenue
Rising enthusiasm for tourism factories among both domestic and overseas tourists will stimulate the sector's revenues growth by 25 percent in 2013 from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs predicted. The ministry's central regional office projected tourism factory sector revenues to rise to NT$2.5 billion (US$83.33 million) in 2013, up from NT$2 billion in revenues last year. Visits to tourism factories should also rise to 11.5 million this year, from about 10 million in 2012, the office said. The ministry has actively promoted the niche tourism sector since 2003 to provide a new source of income to manufacturers of traditional products that have been losing their competitive edge largely due to higher labor costs.

At the third “Banking Supervision Platform” meeting, Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) and the Mainland’s China Banking Regulatory Commission reached a numerous of conclusions on further opening the banking business
Taiwan Economic Research Monthly
The strategic revolutions for Taiwan’s industrial development
The local industrial development: Lesson from Germany
Germany continues developing its manufacturing sector under a global trend of services and other industries moving offshore, and this helped German stabilise its economy from the risks of economic slowdown and high unemployment rate. Thus, the Germany's industrial development experience could be a good reference for Taiwan’s government officials while they initiate industrial development policies in the future
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