Taiwan’s economy posted 13% growth in the first quarter, fueled by a surge in demand for artificial intelligence semiconductors, marking its strongest pace in decades.
According to Yonhap on Wednesday, Taiwan’s statistics agency, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, said first-quarter gross domestic product rose 13.69% from a year earlier. The figure topped the previous quarter and was the highest since 1987, far above market expectations in the 11% range.
Semiconductors were the main driver. As demand jumped for AI, high-performance computing and cloud infrastructure, related exports and investment expanded at the same time. Exports in the first quarter rose 51% from a year earlier, leading the overall gain.
Results at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, also weighed heavily on the broader economy. TSMC posted a record performance in the period, with net profit up 58%.
Taiwan also logged growth in the 8% range last year, extending its strong run. Further gains this year will depend on whether AI demand holds, and some institutions have raised their full-year growth forecasts to around 9%.
Over the same period, growth in South Korea and China was lower, at the 3% level and around 5%, respectively.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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