Taiwan disappoints with 1.58pc growth

Taiwan's economy grew by a preliminary annual pace of 1.58 per cent in the third quarter and was flat from the previous three months, reflecting how global demand for Asia's exports remains sluggish.

The annual figure, announced yesterday, was far below the 2.44 per cent growth median in a poll and the revised 2.49 per cent year-on-year growth for the April-June period.

The statistics agency said that on a seasonally adjusted quarterly basis, gross domestic product expanded only 0.09 per cent in July-September, compared with 0.58 per cent in the second quarter. Exports, consumption and investment were all below forecasts, it added.

"It's a big downside surprise," said Raymond Yeung, senior economist at ANZ in Hong Kong.

Leong Wai Ho, economist at Barclays Capital in Singapore, agreed yesterday's numbers were a "big miss" but said he believed it was because numbers were centred on activity in July and August, which were "weaker months for services where Chinese visitor arrivals were relatively weak".

Exports are pivotal for Taiwan, but by the government's statistics, the services sector accounts for nearly 70 per cent of GDP.