MARKET AT RISK: The DGBAS minister said that COVID-19 might hurt demand for electronics and could dent the economy by up to 0.5 percentage points this year

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 13, 2020
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday trimmed its forecast for the nation’s GDP growth this year from 2.72 percent to 2.37 percent, as the COVID-19 outbreak in China has dealt a blow to Taiwan’s exports and private consumption.

The downward revision mainly reflects supply-chain disruptions and weaker consumer activity, which would slow the economy this quarter to a 1.8 percent increase, the weakest gain since the second quarter of 2016, the statistics agency said.

“Exports would bear the brunt as China accounts for 40 percent of Taiwanese exports,” DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a news conference in Taipei.

The outbreak is also interrupting operations of local firms based in China, but it could also hurt the larger market’s demand for electronics, Chu said, adding that poor visibility is limiting the accuracy of the agency’s projections.

International research bodies have not yet adjusted their growth forecasts to account for the outbreak, the DGBAS said.

The outbreak might dent the nation’s economy by between 0.35 percentage points and 0.5 percentage points this year, if it can be contained in three months, Chu said.   [FULL  STORY]