The government is sticking to its target of 2.5 percent economic growth this year despite prevailing pessimism about the economic outlook, the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday.
York Liao (廖耀宗), chief secretary of the council, said that “economic targets” are always higher than predictions because they represent objectives that the government is working toward.
Liao made the comment in the wake of a media report that given worsening economic conditions, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) was likely to revise its economic growth projection downward when it releases fourth-quarter figures and its latest forecasts on Feb. 19.
The DGBAS’ current forecast puts GDP growth this year at 2.12 percent. However, the report cited a DGBAS official as saying that it looked increasingly unlikely that growth would exceed 2 percent this year and might just stand at more than 1 percent.
The Hong Kong-based brokerage firm CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets on Wednesday released a report saying the Taiwanese economy could contract by 11 percent this year.
Liao said forecasts by brokerage firms tend to be “extreme.”
He said the forecast by CLSA was based solely on Taiwan’s performance in exports and private investment, which could be misleading because it did not take into account efforts made by the government and a possible increase in domestic demand.
CLSA said in the report that heavy increases in government spending would not be enough to prevent a double-digit GDP contraction for Taiwan.
To many, Tatu City on the outskirts of Nairobi looks like a success. The first city entirely built by a private company to be operational in east Africa, with about 25,000 people living and working there, it accounts for about two-thirds of all foreign investment in Kenya. Its low-tax status has attracted more than 100 businesses including Heineken, coffee brand Dormans, and the biggest call-center and cold-chain transport firms in the region. However, to some local politicians, Tatu City has looked more like a target for extortion. A parade of governors have demanded land worth millions of dollars in exchange
An Indonesian animated movie is smashing regional box office records and could be set for wider success as it prepares to open beyond the Southeast Asian archipelago’s silver screens. Jumbo — a film based on the adventures of main character, Don, a large orphaned Indonesian boy facing bullying at school — last month became the highest-grossing Southeast Asian animated film, raking in more than US$8 million. Released at the end of March to coincide with the Eid holidays after the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, the movie has hit 8 million ticket sales, the third-highest in Indonesian cinema history, Film
BIG BUCKS: Chairman Wei is expected to receive NT$34.12 million on a proposed NT$5 cash dividend plan, while the National Development Fund would get NT$8.27 billion Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday announced that its board of directors approved US$15.25 billion in capital appropriations for long-term expansion to meet growing demand. The funds are to be used for installing advanced technology and packaging capacity, expanding mature and specialty technology, and constructing fabs with facility systems, TSMC said in a statement. The board also approved a proposal to distribute a NT$5 cash dividend per share, based on first-quarter earnings per share of NT$13.94, it said. That surpasses the NT$4.50 dividend for the fourth quarter of last year. TSMC has said that while it is eager
‘IMMENSE SWAY’: The top 50 companies, based on market cap, shape everything from technology to consumer trends, advisory firm Visual Capitalist said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) was ranked the 10th-most valuable company globally this year, market information advisory firm Visual Capitalist said. TSMC sat on a market cap of about US$915 billion as of Monday last week, making it the 10th-most valuable company in the world and No. 1 in Asia, the publisher said in its “50 Most Valuable Companies in the World” list. Visual Capitalist described TSMC as the world’s largest dedicated semiconductor foundry operator that rolls out chips for major tech names such as US consumer electronics brand Apple Inc, and artificial intelligence (AI) chip designers Nvidia Corp and Advanced
RSS