The nation's GDP growth was 5.7 percent last year, beating initial forecasts of 5.46 percent growth on robust exports. But it will likely slow down owing to global stagnation, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said yesterday.
"The stellar increase in external demand was the main reason behind the higher-than-expected [6.39 percent] growth in the fourth quarter and the whole year," Director-General Hsu Jan-yau (
"Yet the impact of the US subprime crisis on the global economy is damping growth in most countries, including Taiwan," Hsu said.
Hsu forecast moderate economic growth of 4.32 percent for this year, down from the 4.53 percent predicted in November.
"Fortunately, the impact is likely to be relatively small, as the structure of our exports changed significantly last year," Hsu said.
Exports to ASEAN countries were up 41 percent last year, while demand from the Middle East and India also saw significant increases, Hsu said. Total exports to ASEAN countries plus Vietnam, India and the Middle East accounted for 17.7 percent of total exports last year, surpassing exports to the US at 13 percent and Europe at 10.8 percent.
In addition, the US$15.3 billion (US$483 million) net inflow last year from the triangle trade -- a common practice among China-based Taiwanese businesses that are operating via Hong Kong -- is expected to continue bolstering exports, Hsu said.
Domestic demand, however, was weak as private investments shrank 2.4 percent and private consumption rose by just 2.15 percent.
Chinatrust Commercial Bank (
"Whether domestic consumption and investment can pick up after the presidential election or in the second half of this year will be key factors in this year's economic performance," Liao said.
An anticipated record-high NT$960 billion in cash dividends to be issued this year could be a shot in the arm for private consumption, Hsu said, adding that consumer confidence would likely recover as the fallout from the credit-card and cash-card default crisis subsides this year.
Listed companies, meanwhile, issued NT$860 billion in cash dividends last year, contributing to a higher-than-expected increase in stock market turnover and government tax revenues, Hsu said.
In addition, the government said inflation would increase by 1.98 percent, up from last year's 1.8 percent, as fuel and food prices remain high.
Elon Musk’s lieutenants have reached out to chip industry suppliers, including Applied Materials Inc, Tokyo Electron Ltd and Lam Research Corp, for his envisioned Terafab, early steps in an audacious and likely arduous attempt to break into the production of cutting-edge chips. Staff working for the joint venture between Tesla Inc and Space Exploration Technologies Corp (SpaceX) have sought price quotes and delivery times for an array of chipmaking gear, people familiar with the matter said. In past weeks, they’ve contacted makers of photomasks, substrates, etchers, depositors, cleaning devices, testers and other tools, according to the people, who asked not to
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
RSS