The IMF on Tuesday raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth for this year to 3.3 percent, up 0.1 percentage points from its April estimate.
In its October World Economic Outlook report, the IMF said that the global economy is experiencing turbulent challenges shaped by the lingering effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tightening financial conditions in most regions.
In addition, the highest inflation in several decades and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic weigh heavily on the outlook, the report said.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, Reuters
As a result, it forecast global growth to slow from 6 percent last year to 3.2 percent this year and 2.7 percent next year, the report said.
Global inflation is expected to rise from 4.7 percent last year to 8.8 percent this year, but fall to 6.5 percent next year and 4.1 percent by 2024, it said.
Although the IMF raised its forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth this year, it cut its growth projection for the economy next year to 2.8 percent, down 0.1 percentage points from its April estimate.
As for inflation, the IMF projected that Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) would rise 3.1 percent this year and 2.2 percent next year, lower than global levels, while the nation’s unemployment rate is forecast to be 3.6 percent this year and next year.
Of the major economies in Asia, China’s GDP growth is expected to slow from 8.1 percent last year to 3.2 percent this year and 4.4 percent next year, while its CPI is forecast to rise 2.2 percent this year and next.
Japan’s GDP is expected to grow 1.7 percent this year and 1.6 percent next year, while its CPI is forecast to increase 2 percent this year and 1.4 percent next year.
South Korea’s economy is forecast to grow 2.6 percent this year and 2 percent next year, while its CPI is to increase 5.5 percent this year and 3.8 percent next year, the report said.
The IMF also forecast that Singapore’s GDP would grow 3 percent this year and 2.3 percent next year, while Hong Kong’s economy is expected to see negative growth of minus-0.8 percent this year and growth of 3.9 percent next year.
SEEKING CLARITY: Washington should not adopt measures that create uncertainties for ‘existing semiconductor investments,’ TSMC said referring to its US$165 billion in the US Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) told the US that any future tariffs on Taiwanese semiconductors could reduce demand for chips and derail its pledge to increase its investment in Arizona. “New import restrictions could jeopardize current US leadership in the competitive technology industry and create uncertainties for many committed semiconductor capital projects in the US, including TSMC Arizona’s significant investment plan in Phoenix,” the chipmaker wrote in a letter to the US Department of Commerce. TSMC issued the warning in response to a solicitation for comments by the department on a possible tariff on semiconductor imports by US President Donald Trump’s
The government has launched a three-pronged strategy to attract local and international talent, aiming to position Taiwan as a new global hub following Nvidia Corp’s announcement that it has chosen Taipei as the site of its Taiwan headquarters. Nvidia cofounder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Monday last week announced during his keynote speech at the Computex trade show in Taipei that the Nvidia Constellation, the company’s planned Taiwan headquarters, would be located in the Beitou-Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區) in Taipei. Huang’s decision to establish a base in Taiwan is “primarily due to Taiwan’s talent pool and its strength in the semiconductor
An earnings report from semiconductor giant and artificial intelligence (AI) bellwether Nvidia Corp takes center stage for Wall Street this week, as stocks hit a speed bump of worries over US federal deficits driving up Treasury yields. US equities pulled back last week after a torrid rally, as investors turned their attention to tax and spending legislation poised to swell the US government’s US$36 trillion in debt. Long-dated US Treasury yields rose amid the fiscal worries, with the 30-year yield topping 5 percent and hitting its highest level since late 2023. Stocks were dealt another blow on Friday when US President Donald
UNCERTAINTY: Investors remain worried that trade negotiations with Washington could go poorly, given Trump’s inconsistency on tariffs in his second term, experts said The consumer confidence index this month fell for a ninth consecutive month to its lowest level in 13 months, as global trade uncertainties and tariff risks cloud Taiwan’s economic outlook, a survey released yesterday by National Central University found. The biggest decline came from the timing for stock investments, which plunged 11.82 points to 26.82, underscoring bleak investor confidence, it said. “Although the TAIEX reclaimed the 21,000-point mark after the US and China agreed to bury the hatchet for 90 days, investors remain worried that the situation would turn sour later,” said Dachrahn Wu (吳大任), director of the university’s Research Center for