Taiwan’s top research institute, Academia Sinica, has lowered its forecast for Taiwan’s 2016 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 0.52%. The new forecast, announced Wednesday, is considerably lower than its earlier prediction of 1.74%, made at the end of 2015.
Academia Sinica analyst, Ray Chou has cited the overall weakness of global economy and Britain’s exit from the European Union as the main reasons for the downward adjustment.
“We are not optimistic about Taiwan’s economic growth this year. Of course, Britain’s exit from the European Union has made our view worse. Our interval estimate could continue to dip. Even a negative GDP growth is possible," sadi Chou.
Chou also said that Taiwan’s exports largely rely on the Chinese market and that they won’t have much room for improvement. He said the dwindling number of Chinese tourists and the upcoming US presidential election could also be factors that impact economic growth.