Taiwan’s GDP growth beats expectations in third quarter, but mainland China lockdowns and Western smartphone fatigue cloud outlook
- Taiwan’s economy grew 4.1 per cent from July to September, compared with a year earlier, up from 3.05 per cent in the second quarter
- Although better than expected, demand for Taiwan’s hi-tech exports is being undermined by global inflation and Covid disruptions in mainland China
Economic growth in Taiwan – a bellwether of global demand for hi-tech hardware – beat expectations in the third quarter of this year, though hesitant consumer spending in mainland China and Western nations including the United States poses a risk for the export-dependent island.
Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.1 per cent from July to September, compared to the same period last year, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said on Friday. Goods and services totalled US$189.56 billion over that period.
The economy expanded on the back of a surge in domestic consumption after Taiwan’s major Covid-19 outbreak peaked this year, said Tony Phoo, a Taipei-based economist with Standard Chartered Bank. Growth was 3.72 per cent year on year in the first quarter and 3.05 per cent in the second.
“The easing of Covid regulations means people got to continue to spend,” Phoo said. Domestic consumption reached 6.76 per cent in the latest quarter, the statistics agency said.
Full-year growth was 6.57 per cent in 2021, with a post-pandemic rebound in much of the world raising demand for Taiwanese products.
