The statistics office says that it has cut its forecast for Taiwan's GDP growth in 2015 to 1.06 percent. That’s from predictions of a 1.56 percent increase made in August.
On Friday, the statistics office said that sluggish global recovery and falling prices of crude oil and other raw materials has led to a double-digit decline in Taiwan’s exports. Domestic demand has been equally disappointing, with the retail sector showing negative growth despite government investment.
However, the statistics office predicts that government measures designed to stimulate short-term consumer spending will bring up GDP growth in Q4 by 0.32%. This would bring annual GDP growth up by 0.08%, and bring back a degree of domestic demand.
The statistics office has announced that the growth rate for Q4 will be 0.49 percent. The office also estimates that next year’s GDP growth rate will be 2.32 percent.