Taiwan's government revises 2019 GDP growth up to 2.64%

Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) The government on Friday raised its forecast for Taiwan's 2019 economic growth rate to 2.64 percent, up 0.18 percentage points from its prediction made in August, despite a weakening global economy.

The Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also forecast that the local economy will expand 2.72 percent in 2020, up 0.14 percentage points from its previous forecast.

DGBAS chief Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said Taiwan's economy will continue to grow despite global uncertainties.

Tsai Yu-tai (蔡鈺泰), head of the DGBAS' statistics department, attributed the growth to "better than expected" investment in the domestic market by Taiwanese companies operating overseas since the start of the U.S.-China trade war around the middle of 2018.

In the past, many local companies moved out of Taiwan to cut production costs and increase their profits, but now many of them want to return home, Tsai said. Their investment in Taiwan and the effects of transfer orders will offset external challenges that might affect the economy's growth, helping it to keep on expanding, he explained.

The DGBAS forecast that private-sector investment in Taiwan will increase by 7.61 percent in 2019 -- the highest growth rate in nearly six years.

The agency also forecast that the investment fever will continue into 2020, with private-sector investment and those by public enterprises expected to grow 4.05 percent and 16.91 percent, respectively, next year.

According to the newest estimates by IHS Markit -- a London-based global information provider, Taiwan's economy will outperform the world economy, which is forecast to expand by 2.6 percent in 2019 and 2.5 percent in 2020.