Taipei, Aug. 25 (CNA) Sentiment toward business operations in the local export-oriented manufacturing sector improved in July as many manufacturers concluded the worst has passed amid global demand weakness, the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) said Friday.Data compiled by TIER, one of Taiwan's leading economic think tanks, showed the composite index, gauging business sentiment in the local manufacturing sector, rose 3.69 points from a month earlier to 91.39 in July, ending a three-month falling streak.In the service sector, the composite index rose slightly by 0.04 points from a month earlier to 99.76 in July, TIER said. In addition, the index in the construction industry also moved higher by 0.83 points from June to 96.01 in July, the data indicated.According to TIER, the electronics industry has entered peak season in the second half of the year with export orders and industrial production for July improving from a month earlier despite a year-on-year decline so that many manufacturers have turned upbeat about their business.Taiwan's export orders stood at US$47.73 billion in July, down 12.0 percent from a year earlier, while on a month-to-month basis, the July figure rose 8.0 percent and after seasonal adjustments also grew 5.2 percent.Also in July, industrial production recorded a 2.64 percent month-on-month increase, while the manufacturing subindex for production was also up 2.21 percent from June. However, compared with a year earlier, industrial production and the manufacturing subindex still fell 15.20 percent and 15.68 percent, respectively.Citing a survey conducted in July, the think tank said 22.4 percent of respondents in the local manufacturing sector agreed their business will improve over the next six months, up from 19.4 percent in a similar poll conducted in June, while 23.4 percent of respondents said their business will deteriorate over the next six months, down from 30.1 percent in June.Speaking with reporters, TIER President Chang Chien-yi (張建一) cited the latest economic data as an indication the manufacturing sector believes the worst is over, but still noted that export orders and industrial production are unlikely to return to a year-on-year increase until the fourth quarter.A meaningful rebound is unlikely in the first quarter or second of next year, Chang said.While the local information and communications industry has recently benefited from artificial intelligence development, the gains failed to offset all of the impact resulting from weakening global demand from end users for the entire tech sector, he added.The TIER president said that China's economy, the second largest in the world, is recovering more slowly than expected, and if Beijing's stimulus package fails to boost it, the global economy will be in trouble.In terms of the local service sector, TIER said the improved sentiment largely came from an increase in spending during the summer vacation as well as a booming stock market so the food/beverage and securities industries appear more upbeat.Commenting on the local construction industry, Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at TIER's Taiwan Industry Economics Database, said the composite index moved higher for the second consecutive month in July but as the government continues to rein in the home buying process at a time of slower economic growth, sentiment toward the local home market remains cautious.The local property market still saw a fall in transactions and consolidation in home prices as mortgage rates stayed above 2 percent, Liu said, citing a survey as saying more and more property developers expressed concern over the home market for the next six months.(By Pan Tzu-yu and Frances Huang)Enditem/AW (ICE TAIPEI)

Fonte notizia: Organi di Stampa - Focus Taiwan News Channel