![file_icon](images/file_icon.png)
Published Date: 2020-04-30
Economics Minister
Shen Jong-chin says that Taiwan’s GDP growth for the first quarter of this year
is projected to reach 1.8%. Shen was speaking during an interview on Thursday.
Shen said this
forecast is almost the same as the 1.7% predicted by foreign media outlets.
Foreign media outlets also predict that Taiwan will register 1% growth for the
whole year, outperforming Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea, the other
three so-called “Asian Tigers”.
The IMF has put
out its own, much more grim prediction of -4% growth.
But Shen was
upbeat about the prospects for this year’s economic performance. He said that
while restrictions such as social distancing have driven down consumption, the
manufacturing sector is continuing to run as usual. Meanwhile, he said that the
government’s COVID-19 relief stimulus package will also contribute to GDP
growth.
Shen said that
other factors helping to boost the economy include investment from Taiwanese
businesspeople moving back from China, rising orders in the wake of the
US-China trade war, and large-scale investment in the semiconductor industry.