Yuanta-Polaris Research Institute president Liang Kuo-yuan speaks to reporters in Taipei yesterday after the institute raised its GDP growth forecast for Taiwan this year to 4.4 percent. Photo: Wu Chia-ying, Taipei TimesExports might grow 5.16 percent this year, up from the previous forecast of 5 percent, while imports might increase 3.97 percent, down from 4.07 percent, the Taipei-based think tank forecast. With projected GDP growth of 4.4 percent, Taiwan would rank somewhere in the middle worldwide, behind major economies such as the US and China, explaining why the NT dollar has lost some momentum against the greenback, it said. Yuanta-Polaris expects the NT dollar to trade at an average of NT$28.5 this year versus the greenback. Taiwan’s robust exports would continue to bolster its current account surpluses and countries with strong trade surpluses are unlikely to have a weak currency, Liang said.

Source: Taipei Times March 24, 2021 15:56 UTC