The economy grew 1.76 percent annually last quarter, missing a government forecast from November last year by 0.26 percentage points as smartphone sales disappointed amid a global economic slowdown, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said on Thursday.
The GDP showing was the softest in 10 quarters as the export-oriented economy took a hit from a lingering trade dispute between the US and China.
The world’s two largest economies account for about half of Taiwanese shipments of electronic components — mainly chips, camera lenses, touchpanels, batteries, casing and other parts used in smartphones, laptops, TVs and consumer electronics.
“Smartphone sales turned out weaker than expected in the final quarter of last year as the world economy showed signs of a slowdown,” the statistics agency said in a report.
Exports edged up a fractional 0.1 percent during the October-to-December period from a year earlier, but over the full year saw a 5.9 percent pickup.
Shipments of electronic parts and optical products contracted 4.91 percent and 11.76 percent respectively last quarter from the same period in 2017, the report said.
Imports of agricultural raw materials advanced by double-digit percentage points, but capital equipment purchases continued to decline as firms turned conservative about their business outlooks, it said.
External demand was the main growth driver in the first half of last year, but last quarter pushed down GDP growth by 1.38 percentage points, the report said.
That left only domestic demand to drive economic growth, despite lackluster sales of automobiles, home appliances and communication devices, it said.
Local elections on Nov. 24 last year helped boost dining revenue, while outbound travel declined, the report added.
Daily stock turnover tumbled 14.52 percent last quarter from a year earlier, when global capital moved from emerging to advanced markets in pursuit of higher yields, it said.
The government lent support by providing subsidies for domestic travel and purchases of energy-efficient home appliances, it said, adding that the government is to spend more on infrastructure.
Government expenditure increased 3.55 percent last quarter and played an important role in the 9.32 percent gain in capital formation, it said.
The DGBAS is to update its growth forecast next month.
The GDP reading last quarter could drag the value for last year to 2.6 percent, from the 2.66 percent predicted in November, the agency said.
It said it expects economic growth to slow to 2.41 percent this year, but the forecast could be subject to a downward revision amid growing headwinds.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
RECORD-BREAKING: TSMC’s net profit last quarter beat market expectations by expanding 8.9% and it was the best first-quarter profit in the chipmaker’s history Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which counts Nvidia Corp as a key customer, yesterday said that artificial intelligence (AI) server chip revenue is set to more than double this year from last year amid rising demand. The chipmaker expects the growth momentum to continue in the next five years with an annual compound growth rate of 50 percent, TSMC chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) told investors yesterday. By 2028, AI chips’ contribution to revenue would climb to about 20 percent from a percentage in the low teens, Wei said. “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”