Central Bank Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) dismissed concerns Thursday of a looming “lost decade” in Taiwan, saying the country’s economy was on track to grow by 3 percent in 2022 despite recent warning signs.

In September, Taiwan’s composite index of economic monitoring indicators fell to its lowest level in three and a half years, with the sharp decline accompanied by a depreciating Taiwan dollar, heightened cross-Taiwan Strait tensions, and the U.S.-China technology war.

Asked at a legislative hearing Thursday if these factors risked driving Taiwan into a “lost decade” of prolonged economic stagnation, Yang said he thought it unlikely based on current projections.

Yang said uncertainty in domestic and international markets meant that Taiwan would likely record GDP growth of 3.0 to 3.5 percent in 2022, and 2.5 to 3.0 percent in 2023, which does not suggest the possibility of a crisis.

In addition to better economic fundamentals, financial markets are also now more resilient, having learned the lessons of previous crises in 1997 and 2008, he added.

Meanwhile, Yang said it was by no means certain that the central bank would move in lockstep with the U.S. Federal Reserve, which raised interest rates by 0.75 percentage points on Wednesday for the fourth consecutive time.

Any decisions on rate changes at the central bank’s next monetary policy meeting on Dec. 15 will “primarily hinge on inflation” and, to a lesser extent, GDP data, Yang said.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel