TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s economy will grow at its fastest pace in more than a decade in 2021, the statistics office said on Friday, upgrading its outlook on an expected strong performance in exports for the tech heavyweight island.
The revision came as the statistics office nudged up its export growth forecast for this year, with global demand for the island’s technology products buoyed by a work-and-study-from-home boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, as workers and students rushed to buy smartphones, tablets and laptops.
Gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to rise 6.09% this year, the fastest pace since it expanded 10.25% in 2010, the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics said, and up from a growth forecast of 5.88% made in August.
For 2022, the office said it saw GDP growth reaching 4.15%, up from 3.69% predicted in August.
It said it saw exports this year rising 28.88% from 2020, up slightly from the previous prediction of 28.15%, while for next year it saw exports up 6.14%, from 5.22% seen before.
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
