TAIPEI: Taiwan export orders hit a record level in 2014 and the momentum could extend into this year on stronger demand for Apple Inc's iPhone 6 and other consumer gadgets.
But demand from its biggest trade partner China remains uncertain as economic growth cools, posing a challenge to the island's own trade and economic prospects.
Orders grew 6.7 percent last year to a record $472.81 billion, the economics ministry said on Tuesday.
December orders rose a better-than-expected 4.5 percent from a year earlier, well above the 1.6 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll, but was slower than November's 6 percent jump.
December orders for information communication goods, Taiwan export's main driver, reached a record level, growing 14.7 percent to $13.78 billion, the ministry said.
Orders from the United States and Europe rose 12.8 percent and 9.7 percent, respectively, but orders from China slipped 1.1 percent, contracting for the second month in a row.
"Orders will get a boost from the smooth shipment of handheld and wearable devices, as well as strong demand for mid- to low-priced smartphones from emerging markets," said the ministry in a statement.
"But the slowdown of China's economy and increasing overseas competition could affect orders for petrochemical products."
China's economic growth held steady at 7.3 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier but still hovered near the weakest pace since the global financial crisis, reinforcing expectations that policymakers will have to roll out more support measures to avert a sharper slowdown.
Taiwan's statistics agency recently cut its 2015 forecast for exports, citing below-par growth expected for China and the European Union.
CAPEX INCREASING
Taiwan, which houses component suppliers for Apple, Sony Corp and other global names, handles their orders in factories based in China while it exports the final goods from the mainland to consumers in the United States and Europe.
Taiwan's orders are a leading indicator of demand for Asia's exports and for hi-tech gadgets.
The release of the popular iPhone 6 and other upcoming new gadgets will give a boost to the island's exports, though how big the strength will remain to be seen, some analysts said.
"Some companies, such as those in panel and memory chip sectors, are upping their capex budget, meaning they see orders increasing," said Tony Phoo, an economist at Standard Chartered in Taipei.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world's biggest contract chip maker and a chip supplier of Apple, projected last week its 2015 capex at $11.5-$12 billion. TSMC had said its capex expenditure was $9.5-$10 billion in 2014.
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