Taiwanese turned less confident about the nation’s economy and showed less interest in risky assets after the government’s statistics agency last month cut its forecast for GDP growth, a survey by Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) found.
Most people this month believe Taiwan’s economy would grow by 1.7 percent this year, down from the 2.1 percent they expected last month after the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics on Aug. 18 slashed its forecast from 2.04 percent to 1.61 percent due to disappointing exports, the confidence survey said.
The downward trend in the leading indicators series compiled by the National Development Council helped weigh on public sentiment, Cathay Financial said after polling 14,981 clients on its Web site from Sept. 1 to 7.
Photo: CNA
Among respondents, 35.4 percent said the opinion that Taiwan’s economy would deteriorate in the coming six months, while 32.1 percent are looking at improvement, the survey said, adding that 28.3 percent said it would hold steady.
Furthermore, 34.1 percent said it would become more difficult to find jobs going forward, much higher than the 18.3 percent who said job-hunting would grow easier. Slightly over 40 percent think the job market would likely be the same.
A big majority, 64.7 percent, said it is not wise now to buy houses and 48.4 percent believe it is ill-conceived to sell, suggesting a continued slowdown in property transactions, it said.
Similarly, 33.1 percent expressed plans to trim spending on purchases of durable goods, mainly real estate, compared with 19.6 percent who intend to raise their budget, it added.
A majority, 56.2 percent, think Taiwan’s GDP growth would fall somewhere between 1 percent and 2 percent this year, and 20.6 percent believe the final reading might be smaller than 1 percent, it said.
An overwhelming majority, 86.7 percent of the respondents have said that consumer prices would climb higher in the next 12 months, compared with a tiny 1.6 percent, with an expectation that things would become cheaper. The findings are not favorable for private consumption, the survey said.
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