Taiwan’s economy is expected to have grown at a faster rate in the first quarter of the year due to an increase in exports and strong demand for technology used in artificial intelligence applications. According to a Reuters poll of 18 economists, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is projected to have expanded by 5.65% compared to the same period last year. This growth follows a 4.93% increase in GDP during the fourth quarter of the previous year.
Taiwan’s tech-heavy industries, particularly chipmakers, capitalized on the rising demand for AI technology and led a resurgence in the manufacturing sector, resulting in low unemployment rates. In the first quarter, exports surged by 12.9% year-on-year, a significant improvement from the 3.4% growth seen in the fourth quarter. The largest export market for Taiwan, China, also experienced faster-than-expected growth in the first quarter, expanding by 5.3% year-on-year.
The preliminary GDP data for Taiwan will be released with limited commentary followed by revised figures with more detailed analysis and future projections. Despite this growth, analysts predict that there will be a slight dip to around 3.5% in the second quarter before rebounding again later on in the year. The government has raised its forecast for full-year growth in 2024 to 3.43%, up from an initial prediction of 3.35%. This comes after a slowest pace of expansion by 14 years at just over 1% last year.
Overall, Taiwan’s economy remains positive and buoyed by strong export performance and growing demand for AI technology with further developments expected as we move towards Q2 and beyond
