Taiwan's GDP up 1.54% in 1Q20

By ECCT staff writers

Unlike the US and Europe, which posted sharp contractions, Taiwan’s economy managed to expand by 1.54% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020. According to a news release by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) of its “advance estimate” for GDP, real private final consumption fell by 0.97% (year-on-year) in 1Q20, a reversal from the 2.63% growth in the previous quarter, reflecting decreases in services such as restaurants and hotels, public transportations, as well as travel, cultural, and recreational activities, due to the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the robust increases of internet retail sales, game sales, food delivery services, electronic-commerce platform services, and other stay-at-home consumption, as well as car sales and financial services partly offset the above adverse effects.