The economy is expanding faster than expected and could grow about 5 percent this year, buoyed by robust exports driven by global demand for artificial intelligence (AI), the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday.
DGBAS Minister Chen Shu-tzu (陳淑姿) told lawmakers at a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee that the government’s forecast of 4.45 percent growth for this year “might have been somewhat underestimated,” citing stronger-than-expected export momentum.
“There is indeed room for further upward adjustment, as exports have continued to perform,” Chen said. “The earlier forecast was likely conservative.”
Photo: CNA
The comments came after the Asian Development Bank raised its projection for Taiwan’s GDP growth to 5.1 percent, the strongest in the region.
The DGBAS upgraded its forecast in August from 3.1 percent to 4.45 percent, but it said later that the economy is tracking even higher.
Exports in the first nine months of the year rose 29.7 percent year-on-year to US$452.68 billion, exceeding the government’s projection by 7.4 percentage points. The surge underscores Taiwan’s growing role in the global AI supply chain, with strong demand for high-end semiconductors and electronics offsetting weakness in non-tech sectors.
Orders for chips and components used in AI infrastructure remain strong, dispelling earlier expectations that shipments would cool in the second half of the year due to decreasing front-loading, Chen said.
The traditional year-end peak season for technology goods should support the momentum, she added.
Major US technology companies have announced AI investment plans that promise continued opportunities for Taiwan’s leading chipmakers and component suppliers.
However, ongoing US-China tariff negotiations could weigh on Taiwan’s trade prospects in the longer term, Chen said.
“Tariffs would have an effect, but not in the second half of this year,” she said. “The economy is stable for now.”
Meanwhile, inflation pressures have continued to ease. The consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.25 percent last month, marking the fifth consecutive month below the central bank’s 2 percent alert level and the lowest reading in more than four years.
Still, households “continue to feel the pinch,” with increasing costs for fruit, rent, dining out and medical services, even as vegetable prices have stabilized, Chen said.
The government would continue to monitor price trends and provide policy support as needed, she added.
Separately, the IMF has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth this year to 3.7 percent, amid stronger-than-expected recovery momentum worldwide.
In its latest World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 3.7 percent this year, up from 2.9 percent in its April forecast.
However, next year’s growth forecast was revised downward to 2.1 percent from 2.5 percent.
The report also estimated that Taiwan’s consumer price inflation would reach 1.7 percent this year, slightly below the April projection of 1.8 percent, and would remain stable at 1.6 percent next year.
Additional reporting by CNA
Netherlands-based semiconductor equipment supplier ASML Holding NV yesterday said that it is planning to hire an additional 1,000 people in Taiwan this year in response to growing demand from clients. ASML had previously planned to recruit 600 people this year, but that the plan has been adjusted upward, ASML vice president and ASML Taiwan general manager Grace Wang (汪佳慧) told reporters. ASML has a workforce of more than 4,500 in Taiwan, accounting for about 10 percent of its global total, Wang said. This year’s recruitment campaign would focus on adding people in the customer support, manufacturing and supply chain domains to assist ASML
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) today unveiled a long-haul network expansion plan at a shareholders’ meeting in Taipei, including direct flights to Barcelona, Spain, and Zurich, Switzerland, as well as a service connecting Taipei, Sydney and New Zealand. Starlux is to become the first Taiwanese carrier to offer non-stop services to the two European cities, while the inaugural oceanic route is expected to expand transit opportunities within the Australia-New Zealand market, Starlux said. Flight services to Chicago, Dallas, Washington and New York are under evaluation, the airline added. Prior to the shareholders’ meeting, the airline earlier this year announced that it would be
Nvidia Corp yesterday announced that CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) would attend an employee meeting in Taipei tomorrow to celebrate the launch of the company’s Taiwan headquarters project. Huang would attend a gathering at the site of Nvidia’s planned headquarters in Beitou Shilin Technology Park (北投士林科技園區), the company said in a statement. After arriving in Taiwan on Saturday last week, Huang told reporters that he plans to meet with Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家), and would attend the groundbreaking ceremony for Nvidia’s Taiwan headquarters tomorrow. Nvidia has not yet applied
RSS