South Korea’s economic growth rate accelerated sharply in the first quarter of this year on strength in exports, manufacturing and consumer spending, the central bank announced yesterday.
GDP expanded 1.4 percent in the three months ended on March 31, the Bank of Korea (BOK) said. That compares with growth of 0.5 percent in the final three months of last year. The figure narrowly missed the bank’s own forecast of a 1.5 percent expansion.
The result marked the ninth straight quarter of growth for the country, which has enjoyed a vibrant recovery from the global economic downturn, though like China and some others is battling inflation that last month hit its highest level in more than two years. The BOK has raised its key interest rate four times since July to try and curb rising prices.
Asia’s fourth-largest economy advanced a robust 6.2 percent last year, following weak growth of 0.3 percent the previous year as its export-oriented economy suffered amid a contraction in global trade.
The first-quarter growth figures are preliminary and may be revised.
Exports of goods and services grew 3.3 percent led by semiconductors, electronic components and automobiles, the BOK said. Private consumption advanced 0.5 percent on spending for automobiles and audio-visual equipment, which the bank said offset what it described as “sluggish” outlays for food and other non-durable goods.
Manufacturing in South Korea increased 3.2 percent.
The solid performance in exports, consumption and manufacturing made up for the declines in capital spending, which contracted 0.8 percent, as well as construction investment, down 6.7 percent.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector, meanwhile, contracted 5.1 percent, due to a blow to livestock caused by a devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that began late last year and led to mass culls of animals, mostly pigs.
The economy also grew 4.2 percent compared with the same period last year, the bank said.
The BOK expects growth to slow to a more normal 4.5 percent this year after last year’s bounce back from the crisis — matching a forecast by the IMF — before picking up to 4.8 percent next year.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last