Taiwan Q2 GDP returns to growth, pulling out of recession from Q1

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s export-dependent economy returned to growth in the second quarter, helped by resilient domestic consumption, while exports remained weak as a result of flagging demand for the island’s technology products amid global economic challenges.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a preliminary 1.45% in the April-June period versus a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Friday, beating the 0.8% growth forecast in a Reuters poll.

Quarter-on-quarter, the economy expanded at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 7.02%.

GDP in the first quarter had fallen 2.87% from a year earlier, with the economy slipping into recession.

Taiwan’s exports fell more than expected in June, slumping the most in nearly 14 years, with the government predicting that a return to growth may not occur until November.

Second-quarter exports dropped 16.9% compared with the same period last year, an improvement on the first quarter’s annual contraction of 19.2%.

The government said in May it expects full-year 2023 growth of 2.04%, the slowest pace in nearly eight years and lower than 2.45% growth in 2022.

The economy in China, Taiwan’s largest export market, grew 6.3% in the second quarter, coming in under analyst forecasts, as demand weakened at home and abroad, with post-COVID momentum faltering rapidly.

Taiwan is a key hub in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc (NASDAQ:), and home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC).

The statistics agency will provide revised figures a few weeks later, with more details and forward-looking forecasts.

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