Taiwan is likely to post the highest GDP per capita in East Asia, beating South Korea and Japan this year, South Korean monthly magazine BusinessKorea said in a report yesterday, citing the latest IMF estimate.
Taiwan’s GDP per capita is expected to increase to US$35,510 this year from US$33,140 last year, the report said.
That would put the nation’s GDP per capita above South Korea’s expected US$33,590 for the first time since 2003 and above Japan’s US$34,360 for the first time ever, it said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Bloomberg
South Korea’s GDP per capita is estimated to fall 4 percent this year, while that of Japan is to drop 12.6 percent from last year, the report said.
The report attributed Taiwan’s rapid GDP growth to the government’s intensive support of the local semiconductor industry.
It said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) sales in the third quarter were estimated to have exceeded Samsung Electronics Co’s for the first time, citing industry sources.
TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, on Friday reported a record quarterly revenue of NT$613.14 billion (US$19.23 billion) for the third quarter, up 14.79 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of 47.85 percent from a year earlier.
Market researcher IC Insights last month estimated that Samsung’s third-quarter revenue would have dropped by 19 percent to US$18.29 billion due to a slump in the memorychip industry.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
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