Taiwan’s 2023 Exports Surge, Defy Expectations

Taiwan’s 2023 exports hit 3rd highest annual level after December growth Taiwan’s exports for 2023 hit the third highest annual level in history after outbound sales in December rose 11.8 percent from a year earlier, on the back of solid demand for artificial intelligence-related gadgets, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) said Tuesday, says Focus Taiwan.

Our Views Taiwan exports grew by +11.8%yoy in Dec-23, the fastest expansion since Jul-22 and significantly exceeded market expectations of +4.9%yoy.

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Exports of machinery & electrical equipment which accounted for more than 70% of total exports expanded by +18.8%yoy, the fastest pace in 4-month. By destination, exports to China which represent 20.7% of total oversea sales plunged by -11.5%yoy, the sharpest contraction in 3-month.

Taiwan Exports

Outbound shipments to Malaysia rose by +42.1%yoy, the fastest growth rate since Aug-22. Meanwhile, overall imports shrank by -6.5%yoy, the softest decline 14-month and better than market expectations of -7.3%yoy.

Inbound shipments from China expanded by +1.9%yoy while imports from Malaysia ended 13-straight months of contraction to advance by +1.9%yoy. Against the previous month, both exports and imports rebounded by +7.6%mom (Nov-23: -0.3%mom) and +5.7%mom (Nov-23: -10.3%mom) respectively.

For the year 2023, Taiwanese exports fell by -9.8%yoy (2022: +7.4%yoy) while imports reduced by -17.8%yoy (2022: +12.1%yoy). Moving forward, the improvement in Taiwan’s external trade is aligned with our expectation for better regional trade performance, underpinned by the upturn in the E&E cycle.

Cover Photo: WIKI