Taiwan’s economy last quarter expanded 6.51 percent from a year earlier, beating the government’s February prediction by 0.59 percentage points, thanks to stronger-than-expected exports, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday, citing its advance estimate report.
The showing was the best in 11 quarters and would raise GDP growth for this year from 3.43 percent to 3.57 percent in the absence of major shocks, DGBAS official Wang Tsui-hua (王翠華) said.
The statistics agency is due to revise its official growth projection later this month.
Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA-EFE
Exports of goods and services surged 10.21 percent during the January-to-March period, higher than the forecast by 2.8 percentage points, as global demand for artificial intelligence applications flourished, Wang told a news conference in Taipei.
Imports expanded 2.16 percent, reversing an expected decline, as firms bought more raw materials for export manufacturing, DGBAS said.
In all, external demand contributed 5.46 percentage points to the first-quarter economic performance, Wang said.
Domestically, private consumption grew 4.14 percent, as retail sales increased 3.1 percent while restaurant revenues hiked 8.08 percent, buoyed by the Lunar New Year holiday, she said.
A pickup in property deals gave a boost to the sales of home appliances, furniture and decoration products, while an equity rally drove up incomes and brokerage fees for securities houses, Wang said.
Outbound travel soared 93.97 percent in terms of tourist visits, but the surge had a very limited impact on GDP, she said.
Taiwan has consistently displayed a tourism deficit, except during the COVID-19 pandemic when border controls were in place, Wang said.
Outbound travel last year recovered 85 percent of its pre-pandemic volume should continue to improve, she said, adding that the uptrend would squeeze domestic tourism.
Government spending and capital formation underperformed with a small increase of 1.26 percent and a decline of 4.47 percent respectively, the DGBAS said.
In particular, purchases of capital equipment shrank 18.67 percent year-on-year, indicating that Taiwanese companies were cautious about capital expenditures due to lukewarm end-market demand, Wang said.
Altogether, domestic demand registered a mild 1.16 percent increase, leaving exports to be the main growth driver.
Compared with the preceding quarter, GDP growth expanded 1.13 percent after seasonal adjustments, the agency said.
The impressive year-on-year advance also had to do with a low base that would fade away quarter by quarter, Wang said.
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
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