Taiwan's exports hit record on soaring AI demand
The island’s exports rose 30.5% in September from a year ago to US$70.2 billion
[TAIPEI] Taiwanese exports hit a record high in September, driven by relentless demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, government data showed.
Taiwan is a global powerhouse in the manufacturing of semiconductor chips, which power AI.
The island’s exports rose 30.5 per cent in September from a year ago to US$70.2 billion, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement.
A ministry official told AFP it was a monthly record. The previous high was US$67.9 billion in Dec 2021.
Exports of electronics as well as information and communication products, which include chips, dominated shipments last month, which the ministry attributed to strong demand for artificial intelligence.
“Right now the world is in an AI arms race, and companies... are competing not only on technology but also on inventory,” Wu Meng-tao from the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research told AFP.
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Taiwan’s exports to the United States surged 40.2 per cent from a year ago to US$25.3 billion, while shipments to South-east Asian countries jumped 57.5 per cent to US$14.7 billion, the data showed.
Exports to China and Hong Kong were up 11.6 per cent to US$12.2 billion.
Taiwan produces more than half of the world’s semiconductors and nearly all of the high-end ones.
The island’s dominance of global chip production has put it in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump.
Trump has threatened to slap hefty tariffs on microchips, which are the lifeblood of the global economy.
Taiwanese tech titan TSMC reported last week a record net profit for the third quarter on soaring demand for chips.
TSMC’s clients Nvidia and Apple are among firms pouring many billions of dollars into chips, servers and data centres. AFP
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