The Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) is predicting that Taiwan will see an economic growth rate of 3.56% in 2015. That’s a 0.06% increase over the prediction the CIER issued in December last year.
CIER Director Wu Chung-Shu says that growth in domestic consumption is one factor behind the higher prediction. Another is increased private investment driven by demand for high power chips in mobile communication devices. Wu also said that 2015 is likely to see trends from 2014 such as low oil prices carry over, benefiting a number of economies.
However, Wu said that a number of unknown factors could still impact Taiwan’s economic performance. These include the timetable for increased interest rates in the US, the results of quantitative easing policies around the world, prices for raw materials, US dollar exchange rates, a slowing Chinese economy, and a domestic water crisis.