Exports 11.8 yy vs 4.9 forecast in Reuters poll
Exports to China 6.4 yy previous month 6.3 yy
Gov39;t sees exports in January 20 to 24 yy

TAIPEI, Jan 9 Reuters Taiwan39;s exports rose more than expected in December on stronger demand for hightech products from the United States, but the recovery is expected to slow as the traditional peak yearend shopping season ends.

Exports rose 11.8 in value from a year earlier to 39.94 billion, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, compared with a 4.9 growth forecast in a Reuters poll, and a 3.8 gain in November.

The government had expected exports, a main driver of the island39;s economy, would return to growth by November, fueled by rising demand for artificial intelligence, highperformance computing, data centres, and automotive electronics.

There is indeed some uncertainty of war for Taiwan39;s economy this year. But people in the industry tell us that because of the coming of AI, and demand for related products such as servers and chips is strong, which is a boom we can look forward to, economy minister Wang MeiHua told reporters earlier on Tuesday.

For January, the ministry forecast exports would rise between 20 and 24 from a year ago, mostly attributable to the Lunar New Year holidays falling later in the calendar, resulting in more working days this month than last year.

Weak global demand has prompted the Taiwan government to cut its 2023 economic growth forecast to 1.42, the slowest pace in 14 years.

In December,…