Taiwan Economy Remains Robust

Taiwan’s economic growth eased slightly in the first quarter but remained robust, thanks to the strong overseas demand for technological components, MarketWatch reported. The island’s economy expanded 3.04% in the January-March period from the previous year, decelerating slightly from the three-year high of 3.28% growth in the fourth quarter of 2017, official data showed Friday. First-quarter growth was largely in line with 3.1% forecast by five economists polled by The Wall Street Journal. Seasonally adjusted sequential data, which offers a closer measure of the economy’s recent momentum, suggested the slowdown in growth was sharper. Gross domestic product expanded 1.32% on an annualized sequential basis, compared with 4.34% in the fourth quarter. Economists tend to focus more on the island’s year-on-year figures because of volatility of the sequential data and potential distortions in seasonal adjustment. Taiwan is home to major Apple Inc. suppliers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Foxconn Technology Co., formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The government previously forecast the economy would expand 2.42% in 2018.