The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year to 5.88 percent, up 0.42 percentage points from its June projection to the highest in 11 years on the back of strong exports.
The growth might moderate to 3.69 percent next year, as global demand for devices for remote working and schooling taper off with the reopening of economies and growing COVID-19 vaccination rates worldwide, it said.
“Although the virus outbreak is taking a toll on consumer activity, exports proved much better last quarter and will remain strong for the rest of the year,” DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told an online news conference.
Photo: CNA
Outbound shipments surged 37.5 percent in the April-to-June period, beating the previous prediction of 32.8 percent, the agency’s report showed.
Major technology firms posted robust earnings for last quarter, which is traditionally a slow season for technology products.
Many firms are looking at flat sales for this quarter, despite the coming holiday season, which could be due to customers overbooking to avoid supply shortages amid shipping disruptions and lockdowns in some markets.
The economy grew 7.43 percent in the second quarter, slowing from a revised 9.27 percent upturn for the first quarter, it said.
Foreign trade accounted for 5.14 percentage points and capital formation contributed another 2.14 percentage points, it said.
Tech firms invested in capacity expansions, telecom operators built infrastructure for 5G communications networks and shipping companies acquired containers and vessels to meet a boom in business, it said.
Exports, private investment and government expenditure together more than muted a 0.54 percent decline in consumer spending induced by a level 3 COVID-19 alert and spiking local virus infections in the second quarter, it said.
The government would introduce stimulus measures to energize private consumption once the virus outbreak has subsided, Statistics Department head Tsai Yu-tai (蔡鈺泰) said.
A distribution of consumer vouchers planned by the government could boost GDP growth by 0.3 percentage points, Tsai said.
For the first half of this year, GDP growth reached 8.34 percent and is expected to lose some steam to 3.31 percent in the current quarter and 4.01 percent in the fourth quarter, it said.
The high comparison base last year has much to do with a numerical slowdown for the coming two quarters, the agency said.
Taiwanese chip and printed circuit board suppliers gave positive guidance for their businesses this quarter and beyond, but smartphone assemblers and laptop makers are forecasting flat sales or modest retreats.
For the whole of this year, exports are expected to advance 28.15 percent, while imports might gain 30.96 percent, faster than 20.4 percent and 22.53 percent previously, the DGBAS said.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
ALLIANCE: Washington continues to implement its policy of normalizing arms sales to Taiwan and helps enhance its defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said US President Joe Biden on Friday agreed to provide US$571.3 million in defense support for Taiwan, the White House said, while the US State Department approved the potential sale of US$265 million in military equipment. Biden had delegated to the secretary of state the authority “to direct the drawdown of up to US$571.3 million in defense articles and services of the Department of Defense, and military education and training, to provide assistance to Taiwan,” the White House said in a statement. However, it did not provide specific details about this latest package, which was the third of its kind to
RSS