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Taiwan's economic growth accelerated at the fastest pace in more than a decade in the first quarter, driven by strong global demand for electronic parts, the advance estimates from the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics showed on Friday.
Real gross domestic product grew 8.16 percent on a yearly basis in the first quarter, faster than the 5.09 percent increase in the fourth quarter and the economists' forecast of +6.1 percent.
This was the fastest growth since the third quarter of 2010, when GDP was up 11.54 percent.
On a quarter-on-quarter seasonally-adjusted annualized basis, GDP growth advanced to 12.93 percent from 5.84 percent.
The expenditure-side of GDP showed that private consumption and government spending grew 2.08 percent and 4.32 percent, respectively. Gross capital formation surged 8.29 percent.
Driven by the strong foreign demand for electronic parts and ICT products, exports grew sharply by 19.27 percent. Imports were up 14.63 percent.
Surging demand for semiconductors and booming investment mean growth should remain strong over the coming quarters, Gareth Leather, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
The economy still depends very much on exports and mainly on electronic exports, Iris Pang, an ING economist said. This poses an imminent risk to the economy.
