Taipei, July 21 (CNA) Due to increased spending by consumers and a revival in exports, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has revised its forecast for growth in Taiwan up 0.2 percentage points to 2 percent for this year and 2.2 percent next year.
The Asian Development Outlook 2017 Supplement report on Thursday showed that with increased consumer spending and demand for electronics exports, first quarter growth was 2.6 percent.
The bank's new evaluation of 2.0 percent growth in Taiwan this year is close to the 2.05 percent forecast by the country's Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics in May.
The report also states that Taiwan's growth forecast is on par with Hong Kong, but less than the 6.4 percent forecast for China and 2.7 percent for the Republic of Korea.
The ADB's analysis shows that Taiwan's unemployment rate in April was the lowest for 2 years, a fact attributed to salary increases in the first quarter and increased consumer spending and semiconductor exports in the second quarter.
The ADB also upgraded its growth forecast for "developing Asia" from 5.7 percent to 5.9 percent this year, dropping to 5.8 percent next year.
"Developing Asia" includes 45 economies, though not Japan which is considered a developed economy.
In addition, inflation in Taiwan is forecast to fall from 1.3 percent to 1.1 percent, due to lower domestic food prices relative to earlier forecasts and lower gas costs.
The ADB previously released the Asian Development Outlook 2017 report in April, this latest publication updates the findings in that earlier report.