TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts Taiwan’s gross domestic product (GDP) will only grow by 0.8% in 2023, reports said Tuesday (Oct. 10).
In April, the global organization set its expectation for the country’s economic growth at 2.1%, the Liberty Times reported. The government originally hoped for a rate above 2% but think tanks adjusted their predictions lower as the year progressed, while the Central Bank came up with the figure of 1.46% last month.
The National Development Council (NDC) said that while 2023 so far had been dominated by uncertainty and by negative factors such as global inflation and wars, the fourth quarter was likely to see Taiwan’s exports return to normal growth levels. The high season for new electronic products was approaching, and businesses would be able to reduce inventories, according to the NDC.
For next year, the IMF expected the country’s GDP to expand by 3.0%, while inflation in 2023 remained lower than the international average of 6.9% at 2.1%. The Central Bank’s most recent statement put economic growth in 2024 at 3.08%.