*

April export orders +10.8% y/y vs +4.5% Reuters poll

forecast

*

Orders from China +16.3% y/y vs +7.7% in prior month

*

Ministry sees May orders between +1.8% and +6.2% y/y

*

Ministry expects chips, AI to boost orders momentum

By Roger Tung and Faith Hung

TAIPEI, May 20 (Reuters) - Taiwan's export orders rose

more than expected and at the quickest pace in two years in

April, with the government optimistic about the potential future

demand for the island's tech products from the growing

artificial intelligence industry.

Export orders last month jumped 10.8% from a year earlier,

the biggest leap since March 2022, to $47.1 billion, the economy

ministry said on Monday, topping the 4.5% gain forecast in a

Reuters poll. Orders had edged up 1.2% in March.

Orders for goods from Taiwan, home to tech giants such as

chip manufacturer TSMC, are a bellwether of global

technology demand.

The ministry cited risks ahead including the impact of high

interest rates in the United States and Europe, China-U.S. trade

disputes and broader geopolitical uncertainty.

Despite those risks, "high-performance computing and

accelerating expansion of new applications such as AI boost

solid demand for our semiconductor and servers supply chain,"

the economy ministry said in a statement.

"That is expected to boost growth momentum of export

orders."

Looking ahead, the ministry said it expects that export

orders in May would rise between 1.8% and 6.2% on-year.

Taiwan's orders in April for telecommunication products rose

8.4% from the prior year, while electronic products jumped 22.7%

on year, it said.

Orders from China rose 16.3% versus a 7.7% jump in the prior

month. Orders from the United States were up 11.8%, improving

from a 2.2% decline logged in March.

Orders from Europe slipped 0.2%, also improving from March's

6.2% fall.

From Japan, orders dropped 10.5% last month, versus a

contraction of 18% in March.

(Reporting by Faith Hung and Roger Tung; Editing by Emelia

Sithole-Matarise)