Standard Chartered Bank raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth to 8.8 percent this year, from an estimated 5.9 percent in April, on stronger-than-expected second-quarter economic data and better improvements in domestic spending.
The nation’s economy grew by 12.53 percent in the period from April to June from the same period a year earlier, bolstered chiefly by increasing private investment, inventory build-up and net foreign trade, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Aug. 19.
While exports are expected to slow down from this quarter onward, domestic demand may continue to pick up and gain importance in its contribution to GDP growth in the second half, Standard Chartered economist Tony Phoo (符銘財) said in the report dated last Wednesday.
Private consumption is expected to account for nearly 60 percent of GDP this year and is expected to grow 3.22 percent and 0.57 percent year-on-year in the current and fourth quarters after expanding 4.41 percent in the second quarter, DGBAS forecast.
“This [private consumption] has been driven largely by rapidly improving consumer confidence, which rebounded to a six-year high in July,” Phoo said.
The economist attributed the improving sentiment to rebounds in both job and equity markets as seen in robust growth in auto, retail and property sales.
The job market saw an increase of 55,000 jobs in July despite the addition of 8,000 people to the unemployed population, DGBAS data showed.
Phoo said the central bank would take small moves to roll back the monetary stimulus of the past two years at a measured pace amid mild inflation risk and lingering uncertainty over the external economic outlook.
Phoo expects the central bank to hike interest rates slightly by 12.5 basis points again during the upcoming monetary policy meetings later this month from 1.375 percent currently and another 12.5 basis points in December, bringing the discount rate to 1.625 percent at the end of this year.
The economist said headline consumer prices would inch up 1.3 percent this year and climb to 2.2 percent next year when GDP would rise 4.1 percent from the level this year.
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
Saudi Arabian Oil Co (Aramco), the Saudi state-owned oil giant, yesterday posted first-quarter profits of US$26 billion, down 4.6 percent from the prior year as falling global oil prices undermine the kingdom’s multitrillion-dollar development plans. Aramco had revenues of US$108.1 billion over the quarter, the company reported in a filing on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The company saw US$107.2 billion in revenues and profits of US$27.2 billion for the same period last year. Saudi Arabia has promised to invest US$600 billion in the US over the course of US President Donald Trump’s second term. Trump, who is set to touch
SKEPTICAL: An economist said it is possible US and Chinese officials would walk away from the meeting saying talks were productive, without reducing tariffs at all US President Donald Trump hailed a “total reset” in US-China trade relations, ahead of a second day of talks yesterday between top officials from Washington and Beijing aimed at de-escalating trade tensions sparked by his aggressive tariff rollout. In a Truth Social post early yesterday, Trump praised the “very good” discussions and deemed them “a total reset negotiated in a friendly, but constructive, manner.” The second day of closed-door meetings between US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) were due to restart yesterday morning, said a person familiar
RSS