Think tank revises Taiwan's growth outlook downward

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-30 21:26

TAIPEI: Taiwan's economy would shrink 1.91 percent this year, a think tank forecast Thursday, revising its April projection of 0.11 percent growth.

The Taiwan Institute of Economic Research said the revision was made because the service sector's performance did not perform as well as expected in the first half year, manufacturers' willingness to invest dropped considerately and domestic consumption failed to rise amid global financial turmoil.

But the economy is expected to report growth in the third quarter, the institution said.

The island's economy would report a contraction of 4.25 percent in the second quarter and growth of 0.22 percent and 7.1 percent respectively in the third and fourth quarter, the institute said.

Taiwan suffered a record 10.24 percent economic contraction in the first quarter as the island's exports took a hard hit.

The institute predicted the island's exports would contract by 14.38 percent for the full year.