The Executive Yuan's Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) has revised 2014 gross domestic product (GDP) growth upward to 3.43 percent, which would be the highest annual growth in three years. This indicates that both the country's exports and its domestic demand are steadily rising, Premier Mao Chi-kuo said today following the National Development Council's (NDC) briefing at the Cabinet's weekly meeting.
There are uncertainties for economies at home and abroad, as signaled by the contraction of Taiwan's Purchasing Managers' Index in November and international forecasters' extensive downward revisions of 2015 global economic projections since August. However, the robust growth in the United States is expected to drive global economic development and lift Taiwanese exports, and Taiwan can look forward to steady GDP growth, Mao said.
In the coming year, global economic trends will be heavily influenced by the greenback and the Japanese yen, as well as mainland China's growth performance and the fluctuations in oil prices. Premier Mao also asked the NDC, Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Ministry of Economic Affairs to closely monitor the causes, duration and potential future developments of the plummeting price of oil, and make plans for and prepare responses to possible scenarios.
Last year Taiwan's GDP growth was 2.23 percent, and this year the nation has seen growing exports, consumption and investment thanks to a rebound in economies worldwide and the government's policies, the NDC stated. The October unemployment rate was the lowest for that month in the past seven years. For nine consecutive months from February to October (the most recent month for which statistics are available), the NDC's Monitoring Indicators have flashed green, signaling stable growth.
Looking ahead to 2015, major global economic forecasters still expect continued growth in worldwide economies. Low oil prices will bolster Taiwan's exports, while private investments are expected to continue to increase. The DGBAS projected GDP growth of 3.50 percent for the nation next year.
The NDC urged all related ministries and agencies to take creative and groundbreaking steps to tap into the global economic recovery. These include fully implementing innovation and entrepreneurship projects as well as a recently initiated program to upgrade industries, helping Taiwanese companies to transform and increase the added value of their products.
In addition, the NDC called for regulatory easing to improve the economic structure, spur exports, encourage investment, and expand domestic demand, so that Taiwan's economy can rebound better and sooner and create more jobs.