Taiwan: One of the Tiger Economies of Asia with a Special Roar

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Taiwan Economy
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Taiwan Economy - Overview

• Taiwan belongs to a group called the Four Asian
  Tigers, along with South Korea, Singapore, and
  Hong Kong. These regions experienced rapid
  industrialisation and high economic growth rates
  between the 1960s and the 1990s. Later, they
  developed into high-income economies.
• The country has a total population of
  approximately 23.3 million. Taiwan was able to
  keep its unemployment rate relatively steady
  despite the pandemic. Unemployment slightly
  increased from 3.7 in 2018 and 2019 to 3.9 in
  2020 and 4.0 in 2021. The rate decreased to 3.7
  in 2022 and the IMF expects it to remain the same
  in 2023.

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Taiwan - GDP

• In 2020, despite the Covid-19 outbreak, Taiwan
  was the only Asian Tiger that reported positive
  gross domestic product (GDP) growth at 3.1,
  ranking first in the Asia Pacific region. A year
  later, Taiwans GDP grew by 6.45, which was the
  fastest pace since 2010. However, growth dropped
  to 2.5 in 2022.
• For 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  expects Taiwans economy to expand by 2.1.

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Taiwan - GDP
(Source IMF WEO Update April 2023)
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Currency and Central Bank

• Taiwans official currency is the New Taiwan
  dollar or TWD, which is divided into ten dimes
  and 100 cents. Although, cents are almost never
  used in transactions. The TWD has been in
  circulation since 1949 after replacing the Old
  Taiwan dollar. The nation is also developing a
  central bank digital currency (CBDC).
• The persistent global inflation is also affecting
  the Taiwan economy. IMF forecasts 1.9 for this
  year. The Central Bank of the Republic of China
  (Taiwan, CBC) is expecting inflation to drop
  below 2 in 2023.

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Industry and Trade

• While the country is known for its semiconductor
  and electronics industries, Taiwans economy is
  still dominated by the services industry. The
  services sector accounted for more than 60 of
  Taiwans GDP in 2022, employing about 60 of the
  labour force.

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Industry and Trade

• The service sector is characterised by a lack of
  competitiveness. Moreover, large labour-intensive
  industries have started relocating from Taiwan to
  other countries with less labour costs.
• On the other hand, Taiwans tourism industry is
  booming. In 2019, the country hit a record of
  11.84 million foreign visitors. However, overseas
  travel in Taiwan was also impacted by the
  pandemic.
• In 2020, tourists brought only USD 1.8 bn into
  the country eight times less than the previous
  year.

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Stock Exchanges

• The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation or TWSE was
  established in 1961 and has operated as Taiwans
  sole stock exchange since 1962.
• The Taiwan Capitalization Weighted Stock Index
  (TAIEX), more commonly known as the Taiwan
  Weighted, is the exchanges main stock index. It
  covers all listed companies on the TWSE, except
  preferred stocks, full-delivery stocks, and newly
  listed stocks.

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