Think tank raises forecast for Taiwan 2017 economic growth

TAIPEI - A leading think tank in Taiwan Thursday raised its forecast for the island's economic growth this year, as the recovering global economy buoys the island's export sector.

Taiwan's economy is expected to expand 2.18 percent this year, up 0.04 percentage point from a previous forecast, according to the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER).

The recovering global economy is helping boost the island's exports despite lackluster investment growth as fixed asset investment is expected to expand about 1.41 percent in 2017, continuing a downward trend for a third straight year.

Taiwan's export hit a new high in September due to strong global demand for high-tech devices, marking the 12th consecutive month of year-on-year growth.

Export to the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong grew 17.4 percent year-on-year in the first nine months of 2017, pointing to the fact that the mainland's economic performance has spillover effects on Taiwan, according to Wu Chung-Shu, president of CIER.

The Chinese mainland saw its economy expanding steadily at 6.9 percent in the first three quarters of 2017, putting this year's annual GDP growth target of 6.5 percent well within reach, official data showed Thursday.