Taiwan’s economy is expected to have grown at a faster pace in the first quarter of the year, driven by a rebound in exports. According to a Reuters poll of 18 economists, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) likely expanded by 5.65% year-on-year during January-March. This marks an improvement from the 4.93% growth seen in the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Taiwan’s technology exporters, particularly chipmakers, benefited from increased demand for products that power AI applications. This has helped the manufacturing sector regain momentum and low unemployment levels. Mickey Liao, SinoPac Securities Investment analyst, noted that the first quarter is expected to see the highest GDP growth this year with a projected slip to 3.5% in the second quarter. The government’s statistics bureau raised its forecast for full-year 2024 growth to 3.43% in February, up from a previous prediction of 3.35%. Last year, Taiwan’s economy grew at its slowest pace in 14 years, expanding by just 1.31%.
Taiwan plays a crucial role in the global technology supply chain and serves as a hub for companies like Apple, Nvidia and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which is the world’s largest contract chipmaker. Taiwan’s largest export market was China also saw faster-than-expected growth in the first quarter expanding by 5.3% year-on-year despite tensions between both countries continues to rise over trade issues and territorial claims in South China Sea .
The preliminary GDP data for Taiwan will be released soon providing an initial indication of economic performance in the first quarter and revised figures with more details and forward-looking forecasts will be released in coming weeks
