TAIPEI, April 21 (Reuters) - Taiwan's export orders rose at the fastest pace in more than 16 years to a record-high in March, with demand for the island's AI and technology products maintaining strong momentum.
Here are some details on the data:
o Export orders in March rose 65.9% from a year earlier to $91.12 billion, an all-time high level, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said on Tuesday. That was its biggest clip in more than 16 years and much better than analysts' expectations for a gain of 41.0%, and marked its 14th straight monthly gain.
o Orders for goods from Taiwan, home of the world's largest contract chipmaker TSMC and other tech companies, are considered a bellwether of global technology demand.
o For April, the ministry said it expected export orders to rise between 47.3% and 50.7% year on year.
o Uncertainties such as geopolitical risks and global protectionism would weigh on global economic growth.
o But the momentum for orders would be supported as new applications such as AI and high-performance computing continue to expand.
o Taiwan's orders in March for telecoms products were up 120.9% from a year earlier, while those for electronic products jumped 73.7%.
o Overall orders from China rose 45.7% versus a 0.2% dip in February.
o Orders from the United States surged 76.4%, after a gain of 45.1% the month before. Orders from Europe were up 45.2%, and those from Japan rose 32.9%.
The ministry's website is http://www.moea.gov.tw/
(Reporting by Faith Hung and Jeanny Kao, Editing by Louise Heavens)
By Faith Hung and Jeanny Kao
