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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: StanX Long who wrote (9143)	3/26/2003 1:34:35 AM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95640

Taiwan's exports crimped by Gulf War By Faith Hung EBN (03/25/03 01:04 p.m. EST) siliconstrategies.com TAIPEI, Taiwan - While bombs are falling in Baghdad, export orders are falling in Taiwan, dropping to their lowest growth rate in almost a year, as the winds of war put the chill on foreign buyers. Taiwan exporters received orders worth $11.17 billion last month, falling 14.2% sequentially, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs. The latest figures represented a 9.9% gain from a year earlier, the first time since March 2002 that the year-on-year increase was not double digit, the Ministry said. Export orders for the previous month are usually an indicator of actual shipments in the current month, according to the Ministry's statistics chief Chang Yaw Tzong. Chang attributes the slowed growth to anticipation of war in the Persian Gulf and its subduing effect on foreign orders, particularly from the United States, which initiated an invasion of Iraq last week. "The orders from the U.S. didn't increase," Chang said, adding that the slowdown would not have much impact if the war ends soon. "If the war lasts less than three months, Taiwan companies wouldn't be affected very much. Otherwise, demand from their global clients would shrink to a great extent." Demand from the U.S., the island's largest overseas market, was flat in February at $3.2 billion. European and Japanese orders climbed 8.3% to $1.8 billion and 2.4% to $1.1 billion, respectively. Orders from Hong Kong, which serves as a way station for the shipment of products from Taiwan to mainland China, surged 28.9% to $2.4 billion, the ministry said. A breakdown of the figures by product category shows that orders for telecom and information products rose 13.7% in February to $2.4 billion from a year ago, while electronics climbed 6.1% to $2.1 billion over the same period. If the war lasts longer than expected, companies' bottom lines are likely to be squeezed by factors such as rising oil prices and insurance fees, some industry sources said. China Airlines and EVA Airways, Taiwan's two largest air carriers, announced cargo rate increases today of 10% to the U.S. and 15% to Europe, citing increased costs. But even if shipping costs go up, there probably won't be an immediate impact on the price structure within the electronics industry. "There has been no substantial impact so far," said Jesse Chou, a spokesman of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., Hsinchu, Taiwan, the world's largest foundry services provider. "Even if there were, freight accounts for only a small portion of our costs." Chou added that in some cases shipping costs are not even a factor, because TSMC calculates its quotes in a variety of ways for different customers.