Taiwan Growth Forecast Upgraded to 2.6%

The directorate general of budget, accounting and statistics said Friday that it has raised its forecast for Taiwan’s gross domestic product growth for 2018 to 2.6% after the country made a strong showing in the first quarter, CNA reported. The DGBAS said the latest GDP growth forecast was 0.18 percentage points higher than its previous estimate made in February. The move by the DGBAS to upgrade its forecast for 2018 reflected the stable pace of global economic growth, which boosted Taiwan’s export-oriented economy, the agency said, citing a forecast by IHS Markit of a 3.4% increase in the global economy this year, a new high since 2011. In the first quarter, Taiwan’s economy grew 3.02% compared with an anticipated increase of 2.77% forecast in February in the wake of strong export performance and growing private consumption, the DGBAS said. However, the first-quarter figure was slightly lower than a preliminary reading of 3.04% in early April. The DGBAS said Taiwan’s GDP is expected to grow 3.08%, 2.33% and 2.03% in the second, third and fourth quarters of this year, respectively.