Taiwan to be free of `double-dip recession': CEPD chief

Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) Minister Christina Liu made the optimistic assurance after seemingly pessimistic remarks she made a day earlier caused concern about Taiwan's economic prospects.

Liu had said that without stimulus measures, the local economy will not improve in the fourth quarter of this year or even next year. Her warning came on the heels of a statement by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) Chairman Morris Chang that he saw no good omens for the global economy in the near term.

In an effort to alleviate public concern about the country's economic well-being, Liu told reporters on the sidelines of a legislative session that her previous remarks were mainly aimed at accentuating the need for Taiwan to be prepared for economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States.

"As the uncertainty is not expected to settle in the fourth quarter or next year and might even develop in a negative direction, Taiwan must craft response measures to cope with any possible adverse impact," Liu explained.

So far, she said, the government has dealt with the challenge well. "Therefore, we are faring better than other Asian countries and will definitely remain a frontrunner," she added.

Touching on growing international concern about the possibility of "double-dip recession" in the European Union and the United States, Liu said the situation is globally defined as two consecutive quarters of shrinking gross domestic product (GDP).

"Since our economy has remained on the track of positive growth, we need not worry about such a scenario... We are far from a double-dip recession," Liu said confidently.

Commenting on Chang's gloomy forecast, Liu said the "godfather of Taiwan's semiconductor industry" was assessing Taiwan's economic prospects primarily based on the situation in the technology sector.

While the high-tech industry tends to be more vulnerable to EU and U.S. economic woes, Taiwan has many other industrial sectors that remain vibrant and robust, she added.

Generally speaking, Liu went on, Asia's export trade will be affected if economic uncertainty in the U.S. and Europe is not settled in Q4 or even next year, and the high-tech sector could be the first to fall victim to such a bleak development.

Earlier in the day, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) lowered its forecast for the country's 2011 economic growth to 4.58 percent, down from the 5.02 percent the institute predicted in July.

Speaking at a CIER news conference in which the new growth forecast was released, CEPD Deputy Minister Hu Chung-ying said Taiwan's economy is continuing to grow.

"Our economy might be growing at a slower pace, but it is by no means shrinking," he explained. (By Lin Hui-chun and Sofia Wu) ENDITEM/J

Source: http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/WebNews_Detail.aspx?Type=aECO&ID=201110140028