The statistics office has raised Taiwan’s economic growth forecast for 2015 to 3.78%. The latest prediction, released on Monday, was 0.28 points higher than its previous projection three months ago and showed an optimistic economic outlook.
The statistics office also said that Taiwan’s economy grew by 3.74% for the whole year of 2014. The better-than-expected performance was supported by strong export figures in the fourth quarter of 2014.
Electronics, machinery, and basic metal exports all saw improvement last quarter. In addition to exports, the domestic market was also heating up towards the end of last year. Tourist visits to local destinations grew by more than eight percent and auto sales also saw a more than four percent increase. The year-end municipal elections also boosted domestic consumption.
However, the statistics office said that a string of food safety scandals in the second half of 2014 hurt the food industry and canceled out some of the momentum in domestic growth.