Taiwan Economy Grows 6.56% In Q1, More Than Estimated

(RTTNews) - Taiwan's economy expanded slightly more than initially estimated in the first quarter, the latest data from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting, and Statistics, or DGBAS, revealed on Thursday.

Gross domestic product, or GDP, advanced 6.56 percent year-on-year in the March quarter, faster than the revised 4.83 percent increase in the December quarter. That was somewhat above the 6.51 percent growth estimated earlier.

Further, this was the strongest growth since the second quarter of 2021, when GDP had risen 8.07 percent.

On the expenditure side, private final consumption grew by 4.45 percent over the year, mainly driven by expenditures on services such as transportation, travel, restaurants, and securities transaction fees, as well as flourishing outbound tourism.

Meanwhile, gross capital formation declined 4.88 percent amid weaker investment in machinery and equipment.

Real exports of goods and services grew by 9.11 percent amid an increase in shipments of emerging application goods and inbound travel services. Imports also grew by 0.84 percent.

On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annual basis, GDP rose 1.08 percent, much slower than the 9.96 percent expansion a quarter ago. In the flash report, the rate of growth was 1.13 percent.

Looking ahead, Taiwan's real GDP is projected to grow by 3.94 percent in 2024, revised upward by 0.51 percentage points from the previous forecast.

Consumer prices will increase by 2.07 percent, revised upward by 0.22 percentage points, mainly reflecting the price stickiness in the services sector, the agency said.