Taiwan's business transactions slip 2.99 percent in March
( 2001-05-31 22:50 ) (8 )

The volume of business transaction for March in Taiwan dropped 2.99 percent to an estimated 686.3 billion new Taiwan dollars (US$20.3 billion) from the same month a year earlier, reported Taiwan's local media Thursday.

Due to the sluggish world economy, economists predicted the business performance of the second quarter will not be better and economic recovery will probably have to wait until the third quarter to proceed.

Taiwan's public consumption became more conservative as a result of sluggish economy.

Consumption in dining and drinking establishments for March shrank the most, decreasing by 13.36 percent, followed by the volume of international transaction, which lost 3.08 percent, the Taiwan media quoted the authorities statistics as saying.

Retail trade and wholesale trade lost 2.5 percent and 2.3 percent respectively.