Taiwan’s economic growth for the third quarter was 2.91%. That was the word from the government’s statistic office. That figure is the highest of the four Asian tigers, which also include Singapore, South Korea and Hong Kong.
The phones are busy at the Invest Taiwan office. The government office is helping Taiwanese businesses overseas to finalize plans to invest back in Taiwan. So far, Taiwan has approved NT$800 billion,
or US$26 billion, in investment this year. That number could more than double by year end.
Economics Minister Shen Jong-chin said he expects total investment to reach more than NT$2 trillion (US$66 billion) this year. The government statistics office announced third quarter growth was 2.91%. That’s first among the four Asian tigers. South Korea was 2% while Singapore barely grew at just 0.1%. Hong Kong’s economy, impacted by mass protests, showed negative growth of 2.9%.
Minister Shen there are 3 main reasons Taiwan’s economy has grown the fastest. Taiwanese businesses are investing back in Taiwan. Some export orders have been transferred to Taiwan due to the US-China trade war. The government has also increased domestic demand at this time.
Global companies are also marking Taiwan for major investment plans. Google plans to invest NT$26 billion (US$850 million) to expand its data center here. Orsted also plans to invest NT$16 billion (US$526 million) in offshore wind farms. Taiwan will need to keep an eye on the US-China trade war but building on Taiwan’s strengths will be the key to long term growth.