OCTOBERASIA BUSINESS OUTLOOK9NEWSROOMTAIWAN'S EXPORT RIDING ON DEMAND FOR AI APPLICATIONSIndonesian state-owned companies plan to investigate potential investments in Central and South Asia's non-traditional market during an upcoming forum. The 2024 Indonesia-South and Central Asia (INASCA) Business Forum will be hosted by the Indonesian government in Jakarta on Oct. 7. Numerous companies from both local and the mentioned two areas will come together for business discussions.Abdul Kadir Jaelani, a director-general at the Foreign Affairs Ministry, stated that Indonesia has not fully utilized the mostly unexplored markets in Central and South Asia, which is why the forum is emphasizing on them.Kadir stated that Indonesia had not established a goal for the amount of money they would earn from the yearly business event. Nevertheless, focus will be on securing investment deals."We are aware that Indonesia is not only an investment destination but also a capital-exporting country. South Asia and Central Asia hold a quite large potential and we can see our SOEs potentially playing a role in these regions," Kadir told the press in Jakarta on Friday.Kadir also mentioned that Pertamina, the state-owned oil and gas company, would participate as one of the SOE representatives. Pertamina has previous experience dealing with both of these regions. In 2022, Pertamina's gas subsidiary PGN in South Asia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Intraco. The agreement involves the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and natural gas infrastructure in Bangladesh. Taiwan's export orders in August 2024 surpassed expectations, rising by 9.1 percent year-on-year to reach US$50.22 billion, driven by strong demand for chips used in artificial intelligence (AI) and high-computing applications. This outpaced the 8.35 percent growth forecast in a Reuters poll and significantly exceeded July's 4.8 percent expansion, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs.The growth in export orders is largely attributed to continued demand from sectors such as AI, high-performance computing, and cloud industries, as well as increased production for new consumer electronics. Taiwan, home to tech giants like TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), plays a pivotal role in global tech supply chains, particularly in advanced semiconductors, making its export orders a key indicator of worldwide technology demand.The Ministry of Economic Affairs expects this positive trend to continue throughout the year as AI applications expand and consumer electronics enter their peak season in the second half. For September 2024, the ministry projects export orders to grow between 4.7 percent and 8.6 percent year-on-year.Key sector performances for August include:- Telecommunication products: up 16 percent year-on-year- Electronic products: up 13.2 percentGeographically:- Orders from China rose 2.6 percent (compared to a slight fall of 0.1 percent in July)- United States orders advanced 11.2 percent- Orders from Europe increased by 8.3 percent- Orders from Japan were up by 2.1 percentThis data reinforces Taiwan's importance in the global tech ecosystem, particularly as the demand for AI and high-performance chips continues to surge. INDONESIAN SOE'S EYE FUNDING IN CENTRAL & SOUTH ASIA
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