Taiwan cuts 2016 GDP outlook again as export slide deepens

[TAIPEI] Taiwan cut its 2016 economic growth outlook for the third time on Friday, as weak demand for the island's technology exports continue to hurt the island's prospects for recovery.

Gross domestic product this year should grow 1.06 per cent, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said, slower than 1.47 per cent growth it forecast previously.

The government had cut the forecast twice before in February and November, as the trade-reliant economy was battered by China's slowdown and sluggish global demand.

Taiwan's economy contracted 0.68 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, better than a preliminary estimate of a 0.84 per cent fall.

On a seasonally-adjusted and annualised basis (SAAR), the January-March quarter grew a revised 3.14 per cent, compared with a preliminary forecast of 0.76 per cent, the statistics agency said.

REUTERS