Taiwan economy grows only 1 pct

TAIPEI - Agence France-Presse

A cargo crane piles up containers before they are placed on a boat at Taiwan’s northern Taipei Port which lies south of the Tamshui River. AFP photo

Taiwan said yesterday its economy grew a lower-than-expected 1.02 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, as consumer spending increased at the slowest pace in three years.

The preliminary figure, issued by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, was lower than a forecast of 1.99 percent made in August but improved from a contraction of 0.18 percent in the second quarter.

Consumer spending in the three months to September, which grew 0.37 percent at the slowest pace since 2009, was the main reason for the small economic growth, the agency said.

Meanwhile weak export demand continued to hit the island, particularly for its signature telecommunication products, although overall export figures were improving, it said in a statement.
The agency also revised down the fourth quarter growth prediction to 2.83 percent from 4.23 percent as well as the 2012 full-year growth to 1.05 percent from 1.66 percent.

Taiwan’s trade-dependent economy shrank 0.18 percent year on year in the second quarter in the first contraction in nearly three years, as its exports shrunk for six months in a row until it swung to the positive last month. The last time Taiwan saw a quarterly contraction was in the third quarter of 2009, when the economy shrank 1.41 percent from a year earlier.