Statistics agency revises Taiwan's 2021 GDP growth forecast to 5.88%

Taipei, Aug. 13 (CNA) Taiwan's top statistics agency on Friday revised its forecast for the country's economic growth in 2021 upward to 5.88 percent because of its strong export performance.

The forecast was published along with updated gross domestic product (GDP) growth figures of 9.27 percent in the first quarter and 7.43 percent in the second quarter, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

The revised full-year GDP forecast represented an increase of 0.42 percentage points from the one the DGBAS made in early June.

Demand for 5G, electronics, and information and communication products continued to grow, as Western countries eased their border controls while experiencing the rise of remote working and learning, the DGBAS said.

During the second quarter, exports grew 37.35 percent from the same period last year when calculated in U.S. dollar terms and helped also drive growth in imports and domestic investment, according to the DGBAS.

The only category negatively affected by the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan that started in May was private consumption, which fell 0.41 percent during the April-June period from last year, the DGBAS said.

Apart from the full-year outlook, the DGBAS forecast Taiwan's GDP to grow 3.31 percent and 4.01 percent year-on-year during the third and fourth quarters, respectively.

Also on Friday, the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs released the latest trade data for July, which showed record exports of electronic components (US$14.67 billion), basic metals and related products (US$3.23 billion) and information and telecommunication products (US$5.2 billion) during the month.

Taiwan's exports to its top five overseas markets between January and July all hit a record high for the seven-month period, according to the bureau.

Exports to China, including Hong Kong, totaled US$104.21 billion during the first seven months in 2021, accounting for 42.6 percent of Taiwan's overall exports, the bureau's data showed.

Taiwan's exports to the 10 Southeast Asian countries, the United States and Europe reached US$39.69 billion, US$35.03 billion and US$20.88 billion, respectively, while those to Japan totaled US$16.13 billion, according to the data.