Regions making up one-third of China’s economy expanded slower than the national growth rate in the first quarter, underscoring the extent of the damage caused by a worsening COVID-19 outbreak and widening lockdowns.
Six provincial-level jurisdictions — all of which experienced a rise in infections in the January-to-March period — lagged behind the national GDP growth rate of 4.8 percent, local statistics bureaus said.
That included Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces, two of the country’s biggest provincial economies, which grew 3.3 percent and 4.6 percent respectively.
In Guangdong, the technology hub of Shenzhen was last month locked down for one week, while manufacturing base Dongguan salvaged factory activity by keeping workers in so-called “closed loops,” where they lived on site.
Several cities in Jiangsu, including the key electronics hub of Suzhou near Shanghai, also tightened controls as infections rose.
The other laggards included Henan, Liaoning, Shanghai and Tianjin. The latter, a port city that recorded China’s first community spread of the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 in January, expanded just 0.1 percent and had been struggling before the latest outbreak.
The first-quarter data made public so far includes 28 of China’s 31 provincial-level jurisdictions. Jilin, Xinjiang and Tibet, which contributed just 3.13 percent of national GDP, have yet to disclose results.
Jiangxi Province was the quarter’s best performer, with its economy growing 6.9 percent. The southeastern province, known for its fine porcelain, recorded retail sales growth of 8.9 percent.
Investment and industrial production in Jiangxi were also strikingly robust, up 15.6 percent and 9.5 percent respectively.
However, China’s overall growth outlook is weakening, as lockdowns in places such as Shanghai drag on and as infections start to rise in Beijing, prompting fears of strict curbs there.
Economists have slashed their growth forecasts due to the country’s strict adherence to its “zero COVID” policy.
The latest survey conduction by Bloomberg News found that GDP is expected to grow 4.9 percent this year, far short of Beijing’s target of about 5.5 percent.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to