Two of Taiwan’s major research institutes have lowered their 2022 economic growth forecasts for the country. Both Academia Sinica and the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research recently lowered their forecasts for how much Taiwan’s economy would grow this year. The war in Ukraine, international inflation, and a round of interest rate increases are the primary reasons behind the adjustment.
Responding to these changes, Economics Minister Wang Mei-hua says there’s no reason to be pessimistic. She says the growth forecasts were lowered mostly due to global factors like inflation. Wang points out that when looking at the performance of most industries in the first half of the year, Taiwan’s economy is still doing relatively well.
In particular, the minister says exports for Taiwan’s major industries like electronic devices and communications equipment continue to grow. She says in the first half of the year, Taiwan’s overall exports remained strong. Wang says her ministry remains cautious, but sees no reason to worry.