Consideration of the economic outlook for 2016 also has to take the upcoming presidential and legislative elections into account. President Ma Ying-jeou was elected in 2008 on a platform of reinvigorating Taiwan’s economy and cooling tensions in the Taiwan Strait through unprecedented cross-Strait trade agreements. But after his reelection in 2012, public confidence in the…
In an increasingly unfavorable overall environment of declining exports and anemic domestic consumption, Taiwan needs to be taking advantage of all possible ways to reinvigorate its economy. One policy suggestion that appears on almost every list of potential solutions is to heighten Taiwan’s capability to attract foreign direct investment. Although FDI is often mainly thought…
In a move that had analysts divided as to whether it was primarily symbolic or substantive, Taiwan’s Central Bank of China (CBC) lowered its benchmark discount rate to 1.75% from 1.875%, the first rate change in sixteen quarters. The move surprised many economists, with Bloomberg finding that 13 out of 24 economists surveyed had forecast…
GDP Growth Plummets on Falling Exports Economics is surely an inexact science, as indicated by the massive recalculation currently going on for Taiwan’s GDP growth forecasts for 2015. On August 14, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) slashed growth forecasts for the year from the 3.75% announced at year’s start to just 1.56%….
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 40% of its value from June, with shock waves felt around the world, Taiwan included. The Taiwan Stock Exchange (Taiex) dropped by 7.49% in 90 minutes on August 24, the largest decline in a single session in the history of the exchange. The market closed down 376 points, or…
The upcoming TIFA meeting is seen as a good chance to show commitment to liberalization. This year’s AmCham Taipei Doorknock delegation to Washington D.C. found itself in the U.S. capital during a momentous week that included two historic Supreme Court decisions (upholding “Obamacare” and legalizing single-sex marriages nationwide) and – more germane to the Chamber’s…
Taiwan’s economy entered 2015 on a high after coming off a year of resurgence in tech exports. As first half numbers come in now, however, the economy looks set to miss nearly all of its targets. At the beginning of the year, Taiwan’s Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) forecast GDP growth at…
Rebuffed in its bid to be among the bank’s founders, Taiwan is expected to apply for regular membership. Several hours before the midnight deadline on the evening of March 31, Minister of Finance Chang Sheng-ford sent a fax to the preparatory office for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing expressing Taiwan’s desire to…
On April 28, the TAIEX benchmark index briefly touched 10,002.58 points – the first time it had surpassed the 10,000-point mark in 15 years – mainly due to stock purchases by foreign investors. While the index retreated later in the morning to close at 9,973.12, it was the highest close since April 11, 2000. Daily…
Despite Export Drop, Growth Remains Steady The Taiwan economy saw declines in March in everything from housing sales to inflation to unemployment and exports. One thing that didn’t decline, however, was the economic growth forecast. The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) raised its forecast for GDP growth in 2015 from 3.5% to 3.56%, based…
