Taiwan’s strong October export orders set stage for record year

October export orders rose 9.2% from a year earlier, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday, compared with 7.95% forecast in a Reuters poll and 6.9% in September.

TAIPEI: Taiwan’s export order growth was higher than expected in October, aided by global demand for tech gadgets including Apple’s new smartphones, prompting the government to forecast that orders will likely hit a record high this year.

Buoyant exports have raised confidence the government can easily meet its upwardly revised 2017 economic growth forecast of 2.15%, giving the central bank room to keep interest rates steady.