The Taiwan Research Institute (TRI, 台灣綜合研究院), a leading economic think tank, on Friday last week raised its forecast for the country’s GDP growth for this year, citing robust export performance amid a strengthening global economic recovery.
The forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year has been revised to 2.62 percent, up 0.31 percentage points from the previous forecast of 2.31 percent in December last year, the Taipei-based think tank said.
The institute’s forecast is more optimistic than the government’s projection, which was also raised in May from 2.42 percent to 2.6 percent.
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The revised forecast was made as a result of a better-than-expected global economic recovery, which boosted the country’s export performance in the first half of this year, the institute said.
However, despite the upward adjustment, institute founder Liu Tai-ying (劉泰英) said that it would still be hard for Taiwan’s GDP growth rate to break the 3 percent barrier anytime soon, due to the lackluster investment climate at home.
Local businesses are investing or spending less and saving more, Liu said, adding that this is disconcerting, especially amid a global economic recovery.
With a lack of new investments in the country and weakening private consumption, the growth rate would be limited, he said.
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