WAITING ON 2020: The bank said the near-term outlook for the tech sector remained a challenge as the nation awaits rollout of 5G and a recovery in demand from China

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 04, 2019
By: Chen Cheng-hui  /  Staff reporter

DBS Bank Ltd (星展銀行) has lowered its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 1.9 percent, down from the 2.2 percent it estimated in December last year, as the economy faces increasing downside risks from the tech sector in the near term.

DBS said it would maintain its economic growth forecast for South Korea at 2.6 percent this year, despite its tech sector also slowing rapidly since the fourth quarter last year.

“Taiwan is more vulnerable than South Korea to the tech slowdown, given its higher exposure to the tech sector and higher reliance on external trade,” Singapore-based DBS economist Ma Tieying (馬鐵英) said in a report on Friday.

Electronics account for more than 40 percent of Taiwan’s total exports, while exports of overall goods and services account for 77 percent of the country’s GDP, DBS said.
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