Taiwan Q2 GDP returns to growth, pulling out of recession from Q1
TAIWAN’S export-dependent economy returned to growth in the second quarter, helped by resilient domestic consumption, while exports remained weak as a result of flagging demand for the island’s technology products amid global economic challenges.
Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a preliminary 1.45 per cent in the April-June period versus a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Friday (Jul 28), beating the 0.8 per cent growth forecast in a Reuters poll.
Quarter-on-quarter, the economy expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.02 per cent.
GDP in the first quarter had fallen 2.87 per cent from a year earlier, with the economy slipping into recession.
Taiwan’s exports fell more than expected in June, slumping the most in nearly 14 years, with the government predicting that a return to growth may not occur until November.
Second-quarter exports dropped 16.9 per cent compared with the same period last year, an improvement on the first quarter’s annual contraction of 19.2 per cent.
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The government said in May it expects full-year 2023 growth of 2.04 per cent, the slowest pace in nearly eight years and lower than 2.45 per cent growth in 2022.
The economy in China, Taiwan’s largest export market, grew 6.3 per cent in the second quarter, coming in under analyst forecasts, as demand weakened at home and abroad, with post-Covid momentum faltering rapidly.
Taiwan is a key hub in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc, and home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) .
The statistics agency will provide revised figures a few weeks later, with more details and forward-looking forecasts. REUTERS
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