Taipei, Aug. 12 (CNA) A total of 965 companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) saw their sales rising almost 7 percent from a year earlier in July, led by growth in the tourism, oil/gas/electricity and transportation sectors, according to the exchange.
In a statement released Thursday, the TWSE said these companies generated about NT$3.31 trillion (US$110 billion) in combined sales in July, up 6.81 percent from a year earlier.
The 965 TWSE listed companies comprise 889 Taiwanese firms and 76 entities which were incorporated overseas and had launched a primary listing in Taiwan, the exchange said.
The 889 Taiwanese companies generated a total of NT$3.22 trillion in sales in July, up 6.75 percent from a year earlier, while the 76 foreign incorporated companies posted NT$85.1 billion in revenue, up 9.38 percent from the same month last year, TWSE statistics showed.
In July, the tourism sector enjoyed the highest year-on-year sales growth of 58.97 percent with its combined sales hitting NT$6.2 billion as traveling resumed after the number of domestically-transmitted COVID-19 infections dropped and concerns were eased, the TWSE said.
The oil/gas/electricity sector came in second, posting a 39.83 percent year-on-year increase to boost its aggregate revenue to NT$81.1 billion in July as a spike in crude oil prices pushed up product prices that month, the TWSE added.
The transportation sector continued to benefit from a booming shipping industry on the back of high freight rates due to tight demand, and posted the third highest sales growth of 29.18 percent year-on-year with combined revenue totaling NT$167.8 billion in July, according to the TWSE.
Bucking the upturn, the optoelectronics sector suffered a 25.67 percent year-on-year decline in combined sales which reached about NT$100 billion as flat panel makers suffered a fall in product prices, reflecting weakening demand.
The financial/insurance sector saw its combined revenue falling 25.59 percent from a year earlier to NT$168.1 billion in July due to a decline in insurance revenue and a drop in investment returns.
Meanwhile, the glass and ceramics sector was affected by a weaker property market in China and the overall economic climate, with its aggregate sales dropping 25 percent in July from a year earlier to NT$4.8 billion, the TWSE said.
As for the first seven months of this year, the combined sales of the 965 firms listed on the TWSE totaled NT$23.06 trillion, up 10.05 percent from a year earlier, according to the TWSE.
The 889 Taiwanese firms posted NT$22.51 trillion on combined sales in the seven months, up 10.10 percent from a year earlier, while the 76 foreign incorporated companies generated NT$549.2 billion in aggregate sales, up 8.20 percent from a year earlier.
The transportation sector led the growth by posting a 55.03 percent year-on-year increase in combined sales which hit NT$1.13 trillion on high freight rates in the seven-month period, while the oil/gas/power sector got a boost from rising crude oil prices with its aggregate sales reaching NT$533.8 billion, up 48.40 percent from a year earlier, the TWSE said.
The semiconductor sector, meanwhile, saw its year-on-year sales growth hitting 26.24 percent from a year earlier to NT$2.85 trillion in the seven-month period as demand for emerging technologies such as 5G applications and automotive electronics remained solid, the TWSE added.
