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Thursday, September 9, 2010
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Unstable financial conditions top barrier to Taiwanese businesses02/09/2010 (CNA) Unstable financial conditions and marginal profits are top barriers to Taiwan's small businesses seeking to expand cross-border business, according to the results of a biannual survey released on Tuesday by HSBC Taiwan.Volatile financial conditions, including credit, forex rates and banking interests, as well as small profit margins, are the top factors preventing Taiwanese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from further expanding business with other countries, the results show. Other problems that the Taiwanese SMEs face in expanding international business include a lack of a deep understanding of overseas markets and a lack of local windows for development. The survey was conducted between October and November last year among 6,031 SMEs in 20 markets in Asia, including India and the Middle East. In Taiwan, 300 SMEs with annual turnovers of less than US$10 million were interviewed in the survey. The results reveal that raw material costs, the U.S. and global economic prospects, as well as Taiwan currency's fluctuations, are the top three concerns of Taiwanese SMEs for the coming six months. Eighty-seven percent of the local respondents said they would maintain the same employment scale for the coming six months, while only 9 percent said they have plans to increase staff levels. Meanwhile, an SME confidence index monitor survey conducted by HSBC found that most Asian businesses have regained their confidence in trade after the 2008-2009 global economic meltdown. SMEs in Vietnam were the most upbeat among the Asian economies, at 160, with 71 percent of the respondents predicting that their business will improve in the first half of 2010, followed by those in India and China. Taiwanese SMEs had the lowest trade confidence index at 97, even lower than the 98 posted in the last survey. This story has been viewed 89 times. |
