The Taiwanese economy must brace for a possible global downturn, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
However, the Cabinet remains optimistic about the fundamentals of the country’s stock market, it said.
A rise in interest rates and geopolitical tensions has depressed the global stock market, which has negatively affected local stocks, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has delegated Vice Premier Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) to head an interministerial effort to monitor the economy for signs of stock market problems and inflation, Lo said.
The National Development Council has said that the global economic outlook has dimmed due to the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war, US-China trade tensions and supply chain disruptions due to Beijing’s “zero COVID-19” policy, he said.
The IMF’s forecast for Taiwan’s GDP growth is 3.3 percent for this year and 2.8 percent for next year, indicating the country has outperformed the global average for the fifth consecutive year, Lo cited Su as saying.
The IMF also said that Taiwan has a lower inflation rate than other major economies, he said.
Lo cited Su as saying that a Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics report on Aug. 20 forecast 3.76 percent GDP growth for this year and a 2.92 percent increase in the consumer price index.
The economy grew in terms of real output, fixed investments and consumption, he said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said that revenue in the first eight months of this year at retailers and restaurant was the highest for the period on record, Su said.
The unemployment rate was 3.79 percent in August, the lowest for that month in 22 years, while the number of furloughed workers continued to drop, he said.
“Taiwan’s fundamentals remain sound,” Lo quoted Su as saying. “The responsible monetary and economic agencies will carefully deal with any effect from short-term factors.”
The government has implemented a five-phase plan to reduce tariffs on key raw materials, and stabilize oil and gas prices to bring inflation under control while officials continue to monitor the economic situation, he said.
If necessary, the government would take measures to ease pressure on the economy, he said, adding that the full reopening of the border would help revitalize sectors affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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