Taipei: Taiwan’s excess savings are predicted to reach a record NT$5.424 trillion (US$172.55 billion) in 2025, driven by economic growth fueled by artificial intelligence (AI) business opportunities, as reported by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).

According to Focus Taiwan, excess savings represent the difference between a country’s gross domestic savings and gross domestic investments, often indicating idle funds. However, Tsai Yu-tai, head of the DGBAS’s Department of Statistics, noted that these funds are not necessarily idle and could be channeled into the stock market or other investments. Taiwan’s export-oriented economy often results in a current account surplus, with export values surpassing imports, thus contributing to excess savings, Tsai explained.

The AI boom is anticipated to enhance Taiwan’s export performance in 2025, prompting the DGBAS to adjust its annual growth forecast to 7.37 percent, marking the highest rate in 15 years. Annual export orders are expected to exceed US$600 billion, reflecting a 31.58 percent increase from 2024.

The rapid growth of excess savings, which surpassed NT$3 trillion in 2020 and NT$4 trillion in 2024, is projected to exceed NT$6.2 trillion by 2026. This growth is attributed to the expansion of Taiwan’s current-account surplus rather than a lack of investments, according to Tsai.

Taiwan’s gross investment reached a record NT$6.9 trillion in 2024 and is expected to rise to NT$7.2 trillion in 2025 and NT$7.4 trillion in 2026. These figures suggest gross investment growth of 4.35 percent in 2025 and 2.78 percent in 2026, compared to an estimated 25 percent increase in excess savings in 2025 and 14.39 percent in 2026.