Taiwan’s year-long export slump eases as AI chip demand grows, signs semiconductor cycle is bottoming out

Taiwan’s exports slipped again in August due to weak spending by the world’s biggest economies, but a full year of monthly declines in the global hi-tech manufacturing hub showed improvement because of demand for semiconductors made to support artificial intelligence (AI).

Exports from the world tech powerhouse fell by 7.3 per cent in August, year on year, to US$37.36 billion, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday.

The decrease was the mildest over the past year, with semiconductor sales on the way up as developers of consumer electronics buy chips that are made for generative AI applications, analysts said.

Prospects of an AI boom also dominated the world’s largest chip conference, Semicon Taiwan, this week where 60,000 guests, including executives from Europe, the United States and Japan, met to examine the industry’s future.

“What happens now is we will see some upticking,” said Kent Chong, a partner with professional services firm PwC in Taipei.