The IMF has raised Taiwan’s GDP growth forecast for this year by 0.2 percentage points to 2.9 percent, outpacing other regional countries including Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
The IMF’s April 2025 World Economic Outlook report, published yesterday, said that the imposition of sweeping tariffs by the US was "resetting the global trade system and giving rise to uncertainty" that is testing the resilience of the global economy.
Given that uncertainty, the IMF said it was estimating global economic growth of 2.8 percent this year and 3 percent next year, down 0.5 and 0.3 percentage points respectively from its last forecast in January.
Photo: Reuters
As for Taiwan, the report predicted that Taiwan’s economy would grow by 2.9 percent this year — a figure 0.2 percentage points higher than its previous forecast in October last year — and 2.5 percent next year.
Last year, Taiwan’s economy grew by 4.3 percent, the report said.
Meanwhile, the IMF predicted that Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, would rise by 1.8 percent this year, well below the 4.3 percent forecast globally.
Taiwan’s CPI growth is to tick lower next year, to 1.6 percent, the report said.
In addition, the unemployment rate in Taiwan is expected to remain at 3.4 percent both this year and next, the IMF said.
Elsewhere in East Asia, the IMF forecast GDP growth of 0.6 percent in Japan this year, 4 percent in China, 1 percent in South Korea, 2 percent in Singapore and 1.5 percent in Hong Kong.
The US economy, the world’s largest, is expected to grow at a rate 1.8 percent this year (down from 2.8 percent last year), with inflation at 3 percent, the report said.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS