The Macroeconomic Environment Having bottomed out in the second half of 2003, the global economy then began to recover. However, by the second half of 2004, rising oil prices and rising interest rates in the US were causing global economic growth to slacken again. Nevertheless, global economic performance over the whole of 2004 was still superior to that in 2003.
The state of the global economy has a major impact on economic growth in Taiwan. The upturn in the global economy in the second half of 2003 was echoed in Taiwan, and by May 2004 there were signs that the economy might be overheating. Subsequently, as global economic growth slowed, so did growth in Taiwan, and by the end of 2004 Taiwan was experiencing slow but steady “green light” growth once again.
It was anticipated that the slackening in growth in both the global economy and the Taiwanese economy would continue into the first half of 2005, but that growth would start to pick up again in the second half of the year. The political and economic situation in China could have a major impact on Taiwan’s economic performance. Taiwan will need to keep an eye out for a possible revaluation of the Yuan, and for changes in the measures being implemented by the Chinese government to stop the economy from overheating. For small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in particular, these developments could be of great importance.
An Overview of SME Development In 2004, the major indicators for SME development all displayed positive growth compared to 2003. The number of SMEs in Taiwan increased by 1.54%, the number of employed persons and paid employees rose by 1.72% and 3.13% respectively, and total sales, domestic sales and export sales increased by 7.41%, 7.41% and 7.42%, respectively. The key statistical data for Taiwanese SMEs in 2004 were as follows:
1. Number of Enterprises:
(1) In recent years, the number of SMEs in Taiwan has continued to rise. The rate of increase has been greater in the service sec