Taiwan December exports beat forecasts; govt sees stable outlook on AI

By Faith Hung and Roger Tung

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan's exports rose more than expected in December, buoyed by robust demand for semiconductors from the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and continued, although weaker, demand from China.

Exports rose 9.2% from the same month a year ago to $43.59 billion, its second-highest level, the finance ministry said on Thursday, beating a forecast of 6.5% growth in a Reuters poll. The increase, although slightly below November's gain of 9.7%, marked the 14th straight monthly rise.

The ministry said the growth outlook into the first quarter was stable because of demand for semiconductors for AI, but said January exports could fall between 1% and 4% on year because of the long Chinese lunar new year holiday.

People in China usually travel to their hometowns ahead of the festival, which starts on January 29 this year, and many businesses close for an extended period.

China is Taiwan's biggest trading partner.

The fourth quarter is traditionally strong for Taiwan exports due to the peak end-of-year shopping season in the U.S. and Europe.

Taiwan firms such as TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker, are major suppliers to Apple, Nvidia and other tech giants.

In December, exports to the United States rose 16.0% year on year to $9.845 billion, versus a 10.6% gain in November.

Exports to China rose 3.6%, slowing after a jump of 9.5% the previous month. China's $18 trillion economy is struggling to recover from the pandemic and manufacturing activity barely grew in December, according to official Chinese data.

Taiwan's total exports of electronic components rose 8.6% in December on the year to $17.21 billion, with semiconductor exports up 9.4%.

Imports rose 30.4% to $37.51 billion in December, faster than economists' forecasts for a gain of 15.1%.

(Reporting by Faith Hung and Roger Tung; Editing by Jacqueline Wong and Kate Mayberry)