Taiwan's economy shows more signs of recovery

Improvement in Taiwan's manufacturing, service and construction sectors indicated that the island's economy is continuing to strengthen in July, a report from Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said on Monday.
David S. Hong, chief researcher of the think tank, said Taiwan's exports to the United States, Europe and Asia all rose in July, thanks to a rebounding global economy.
As both external and domestic demands have been gaining momentum, Taiwan's exports increased 2.51 percent from a year ago in the first seven months of this year, with imports growing 2.24 percent, Hong said.
Analysts also raised their forecasts for Taiwan's economic growth in the third and forth quarters to above 3 percent, fueling market optimism across the island, he added.
Data released by the island's economic authorities on Monday brought good news as well. Total sales volume for Taiwan's wholesale, retail and catering sectors increased 0.8 percent to 1.2439 trillion New Taiwan Dollars (about 41.2 billion U.S. dollars) in July from the previous month.
The Industrial Production Index, an indicator to measure the real production output of key sectors, set a new high of 112.26 points in July, with an increase of 4.03 percent from June, the authorities said.
Manufacturing, the index heavyweight, registered a 3.85 percent growth from the previous month, and expanded 5.1 percent year-on-year in the first seven months, according to the statistics.
The economic authorities also predicted a continued growth for the island's manufacturing sector in the third quarter, as advanced economies are on the mend and the Chinese mainland's consumption demand during the upcoming holidays will give Taiwan's economy a further boost.