Strong iPhone 6 Demand Boosts Taiwan Export Orders
Booming shipments of the iPhone 6 helped Taiwan's export orders jump 12.7 percent in September year-on-year to a record $43.3 billion, the government said Monday.
It marked an eighth straight month of growth in export orders for tech-rich Taiwan, the economic ministry said in a statement.
Orders for information and mobile devices rose 16.3 percent from a year ago to $12.9 billion, "mainly due to the launch of international brand name mobile devices that led to the significant increase of orders", the ministry said.
Taiwanese giant Hon Hai -- the parent company of Foxconn in China and the world's largest computer components manufacturer -- assembles products for Apple, as well as Sony and Nokia.
Its revenues surged 22.95 percent year-on-year in September to Tw$415.4 billion ($13.66 billion).
Media reports say local firms Pegatron Corp worked on the assembly of the new iPhone and TSMC -- the world's biggest contract microchip maker -- manufactured its chips, although neither company has confirmed the contracts.
The economic ministry also credited rising demand for laptop computers for the boost in orders. Taiwanese firms produce laptops for a range of major brands including HP, Dell and Lenovo, while Acer alone has a 10.8 percent global market share, according to Taipei-based Digitimes Research.
Export orders -- those filed to manufacturers one or two months ahead of delivery -- are a key indicator for the island's export-reliant economy.
Orders for electronic products surged 19.4 percent year-on-year as the increased shipments of mobile devices spurred business for the semiconductor and computer memory storage sectors, the ministry said.
Export orders from the United States hit a record $11.4 billion, up 15.5 percent year-on-year and up 20.6 percent from the previous month.
Orders from mainland China and Hong Kong, Taiwan's other major overseas markets, rose 8.6 percent year-on-year to $10.4 billion.
Apple launched the iPhone 6 and larger-screen iPhone 6 Plus on September 19, selling 10 million units in the opening weekend.
Source: Agence France Presse
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