INVENTORY: This year’s late release of smartphones might see the nation’s export growth soften, as international consumer demand is expected to slump on costs

Taipei Times
Date: Dec 20, 2017 
By: Crystal Hsu  /  Staff reporter

Taiwan’s economy could expand by 2.27 percent next year, slower than the estimated 2.53 percent increase this year, as stable global growth is expected to continue to boost exports, but low-base benefits are tapering off, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday.

The updates suggested slightly upward revisions from a forecast in October on the back of stronger exports.

“A stable global economy would continue to supply growth momentum, but the pace might soften in the absence of a low comparison base,” CIER president Wu Chung-shu (吳中書) told a news conference in Taipei.

Taiwan is home to the world’s largest contract chipmakers and chip designers, as well as makers of camera lenses, casings and other critical components used in smartphones, laptops and other consumer electronics.   [FULL  STORY]