TRADE DISPUTE: Dismissing concerns over a recession, DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming said that Taiwanese semiconductor companies remain competitive worldwide

Taipei Times
Date: Feb 14, 2019
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) yesterday cut its growth forecast for this year as global uncertainty heightens, posing a risk to the nation’s export-oriented economy.

The nation’s economy is forecast to expand 2.27 percent this year, down from the 2.41 percent the agency predicted in November last year, as sales of smartphones and other electronics products disappoint.

Taiwan is home to the world’s largest suppliers of chips, camera lenses, casings, battery packs, touchpanels and other critical components used in smartphones, laptops, TVs and other technology products.

“The economy is losing steam, but not in a recessionary state,” DGBAS Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) told a news conference.    [FULL  STORY]