2019.08.1606:43:00UTC+00Taiwan Lifts 2019 Growth Projection

Taiwan's economic growth outlook for 2019 was revised up as the region is expected to withstand the adverse impact from trade protectionism and weak global growth.

Real gross domestic product is forecast to grow 2.46 percent in 2019, compared to 2.19 percent projected in May, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, or DGBAS, said Friday.

At the same time, outlook for inflation was revised down slightly to 0.67 percent from 0.71 percent estimated in May.

In 2020, the trade-reliant economy is forecast to expand 2.58 percent and inflation to rise to 0.82 percent.

According to preliminary estimate, real GDP grew 2.40 percent in the second quarter of 2019 from the previous year, which was faster than the revised 1.83 percent expansion seen in the first quarter.

On a quarter-on-quarter, seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, the economy grew 2.72 percent.

On the demand side, real private final consumption grew at a faster pace of 1.55 percent annually in the second quarter, mainly reflecting the growing sales of cars and boutiques.

Gross fixed capital formation climbed 7.51 percent, primarily due to the increase in machinery and equipments investment as well as transport equipments.

In addition, real exports of goods and services grew 4.13 percent on strong demand for information, communication and audio-video products, as well as refined petroleum products. At the same time, imports grew 3.68 percent.