Economic outlook, risk appetite climb in Taiwan: Survey

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) Public optimism about Taiwan's economic outlook improved in September, while confidence in the local stock market strengthened despite persistent concerns about inflation, according to a monthly survey released Monday by Cathay Financial Holding Co., Ltd.

The survey found that the current economic optimism index rose to 14.8 from 3.1 a month earlier, while the outlook index climbed to 16.5 from 8.

Consumer sentiment also improved, with the index for big-ticket purchases rising to 18.3 from 15.3 and the index for durable goods increasing to -3.9 from -6.0.

The public expects Taiwan's economy to grow an average of 10.89 percent in 2026, close to the 11.05 percent forecast issued by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) on Aug. 14, the poll showed.

However, the public is expecting an average inflation rate of 2.51 percent this year, higher than the DGBAS forecast of 2.07 percent, the survey found.

The findings were broadly in line with the latest data from the National Development Council (NDC), whose July business climate monitoring signal remained red, indicating a booming or possibly overheating economy.

Meanwhile, both the leading and coincident indexes continued to rise, indicating the economy remained on a steady growth path, according to the NDC data.

Inflation expectations for the coming year remained elevated, with 79 percent of respondents expecting the inflation rate to exceed 2 percent in a year's time, including 35 percent who forecast it would top 3 percent.

Another 15 percent expect inflation to be between 1 percent and 2 percent, according to the Cathay survey.

Asked what would have the biggest impact on prices over the next year, 35 percent of the respondents cited everyday expenses such as dining out, food items like fruits and vegetables, and household necessities, while 29 percent pointed to imported raw material costs, including crude oil and steel, Cathay said.

Stock market sentiment also improved, with the optimism index rising to 49.1 from 36.2 in August and the risk appetite index increasing to 32.9 from 29.1, the poll found.

Cathay Financial attributed the gains to easing concerns over U.S. inflation, continued increases in capital spending by major cloud service providers, and better-than-expected corporate earnings, which supported artificial intelligence-related stocks and the broader market.

The survey was conducted Sept. 1-7 and collected 14,187 valid online responses from customers of Cathay Life Insurance and Cathay United Bank, both fully owned subsidiaries of Cathay Financial Holdings, Taiwan's largest financial holding company by total assets.