TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan’s trade-dependent economy grew less than expected in the fourth quarter of 2024 but managed strong 4.3% growth for the full year, reaping the benefits of the AI boom and a recovery in demand from China.
Taiwan is a key part of the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA), and is home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co,.
Gross domestic product grew a preliminary 1.84% in the October-December period from a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Friday, missing the 2.0% growth forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll. It was also slower than the 4.17% expansion in the third quarter.
Quarter-on-quarter, the economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 2.04%.
Fourth-quarter exports rose 9.1% year-on-year, slightly faster than the third-quarter’s 8.1%, powered by tech-heavy exporters including chipmakers that were boosted by AI-related demand.
Full-year growth of 4.3% was in line with the statistics bureau’s November forecast of 4.27% and the fastest pace in three years. In 2023, the economy expanded 1.31%, a 14-year low.
