The nation's GDP growth rate hit 6.28 percent in the first quarter, up 1.12 percentage points from the estimated 5.16 percent in February, the government statistics bureau said yesterday.
The rosier-than-expected economic performance was a result of improving exports and private investment, which respectively rose by 18.6 percent and 21.7 percent in the first quarter, said Hsu Jan-yau (
In light of the first quarter's solid economic upturn, the bureau revised upward its GDP growth estimates for this year to 5.41 percent, up 0.67 percentage points from the estimated 4.74 percent in February, with a forecast GDP growth figure of 6.77 percent, 4.6 percent and 4.18 percent for the next three quarters.
"The local economy has greatly recovered to the level of the previous boom years of 1999 and 2000," Hsu told a press conference yesterday afternoon.
As big investments are planned, such as Formosa Group's sixth naphtha cracker plant as well as development of the nation's DRAM (dynamic random access memory) chip making, optoelectronics and textile sectors, Hsu said that the nation's private investment may grow an average 22.9 percent for the year.
This is expected to contribute 2.6 percentage points to the nation's full-year economic growth.
Domestic consumption is expected to see a 3 percentage-point increase this year, and may contribute 1.8 percentage points to the nation's full-year economic growth, the DGBAS director-general-designate added.
"We are going to see a year with both positive export and domestic-demand performance this year," Hsu added.
He, however, expressed concern over current economic uncertainties, including an expected interest-rate rise in the US, China's plans to cool its over-heated economy and rising oil prices, which he said may pose a negative impact to the local economy in the second half of the year.
But he also added that yesterday's economic forecast has already taken China's cooling measures into consideration based on the assumption that China's economic growth may be lowered to 8.3 percent this year.
One of the statistics committee members, Yu Tzong-shian (
The nation's consumer price index (CPI) also bottomed out to see 0.51 percent growth in the first quarter with an estimated 0.8 percent for the full year, Hsu said.
Hsu, however, expressed concern that rising oil prices may negatively impact the nation's CPI, which he said may contract by 0.11 percent if the oil price rises US$1.
Expressing an optimistic view, another statistics committee member Yeh Wan-an (
Also see story:
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
COORDINATION, ASSURANCE: Separately, representatives reintroduced a bill that asks the state department to review guidelines on how the US engages with Taiwan US senators on Tuesday introduced the Taiwan travel and tourism coordination act, which they said would bolster bilateral travel and cooperation. The bill, proposed by US senators Marsha Blackburn and Brian Schatz, seeks to establish “robust security screenings for those traveling to the US from Asia, open new markets for American industry, and strengthen the economic partnership between the US and Taiwan,” they said in a statement. “Travel and tourism play a crucial role in a nation’s economic security,” but Taiwan faces “pressure and coercion from the Chinese Communist Party [CCP]” in this sector, the statement said. As Taiwan is a “vital trading
RSS