AI Drives Export and Investment Surge, Q1 GDP Growth Reaches 13.69%, a Nearly 39-Year High
Taiwan's Q1 GDP growth reached 13.69%, a nearly 39-year high, driven by surging AI demand, robust exports and investment, and better-than-expected private consumption.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 30, 2026 at 19:43
- 🔍 Collected: April 30, 2026 at 20:01 (18 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 2, 2026 at 07:25 (35h 23m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Pan Tzu-yu, Taipei, 30th) The explosive demand for artificial intelligence (AI) has fueled a full-throttle surge in exports and investment, coupled with better-than-expected private consumption. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) today announced that the preliminary estimate for Q1 economic growth was 13.69%, an increase of 2.23 percentage points from the February forecast, setting a new single-quarter record high in nearly 39 years.
Jiang Hsin-yi, a specialist at the DGBAS's Department of Comprehensive Statistics, stated that the Q1 economic growth rate exceeded expectations primarily due to strong export momentum, which drove domestic production and investment. For private consumption, the benefits of universal cash handouts and the wealth effect from the stock market both provided additional impetus.
Jiang Hsin-yi pointed out that major cloud service providers (CSPs) continue to expand capital expenditures, and demand for AI, high-performance computing, and cloud infrastructure remains strong. Coupled with the mass production of new generation high-end products, this stimulated a significant increase in exports of related electronic information and communication products. The year-on-year growth rate of merchandise exports in U.S. dollar terms soared to 51.10% in Q1, and real growth in goods and services exports reached 35.25%, a substantial increase of 9.87 percentage points from the forecast.
Looking solely at customs merchandise export value, Jiang Hsin-yi stated that the actual Q1 figure was US$195.7 billion, an increase of US$14.8 billion from the forecast.
Strong export growth has driven accelerated domestic investment. DGBAS noted that manufacturers are actively preparing materials and purchasing capital equipment. In Q1, merchandise imports in U.S. dollar terms increased by 34.81% year-on-year, with agricultural and industrial raw materials growing by 38.82% and capital equipment by 33.52% respectively.
Due to the continued momentum of corporate investment, DGBAS's preliminary estimate for real capital formation (including government, public, and private fixed investment, as well as inventory changes) was 5.20% growth, a significant increase of 4.86 percentage points from the forecast of 0.34%.
In addition to the dual engines of exports and investment, DGBAS's preliminary estimate for Q1 private consumption showed real growth of 4.89%, an increase of 2.02 percentage points from the forecast of 2.87%, and a new high in 10 quarters.
Jiang Hsin-yi stated that the wealth effect brought by the surging stock market played a certain role. Furthermore, both domestic and international tourism were very active in Q1. Besides the close proximity of this year's Lunar New Year and 228 consecutive holidays, the holiday effect was better than last year. The significantly fewer rainy days in Q1 this year compared to the same period last year also greatly increased willingness to travel. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Tourism Administration, the average daily number of travelers during this year's Lunar New Year reached 645,000, a year-on-year increase of 125%. (Editor: Yang Lan-hsuan) 1150430
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(Central News Agency reporter Pan Tzu-yu, Taipei, 30th) The explosive demand for artificial intelligence (AI) has fueled a full-throttle surge in exports and investment, coupled with better-than-expected private consumption. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) today announced that the preliminary estimate for Q1 economic growth was 13.69%, an increase of 2.23 percentage points from the February forecast, setting a new single-quarter record high in nearly 39 years.
Jiang Hsin-yi, a specialist at the DGBAS's Department of Comprehensive Statistics, stated that the Q1 economic growth rate exceeded expectations primarily due to strong export momentum, which drove domestic production and investment. For private consumption, the benefits of universal cash handouts and the wealth effect from the stock market both provided additional impetus.
Jiang Hsin-yi pointed out that major cloud service providers (CSPs) continue to expand capital expenditures, and demand for AI, high-performance computing, and cloud infrastructure remains strong. Coupled with the mass production of new generation high-end products, this stimulated a significant increase in exports of related electronic information and communication products. The year-on-year growth rate of merchandise exports in U.S. dollar terms soared to 51.10% in Q1, and real growth in goods and services exports reached 35.25%, a substantial increase of 9.87 percentage points from the forecast.
Looking solely at customs merchandise export value, Jiang Hsin-yi stated that the actual Q1 figure was US$195.7 billion, an increase of US$14.8 billion from the forecast.
Strong export growth has driven accelerated domestic investment. DGBAS noted that manufacturers are actively preparing materials and purchasing capital equipment. In Q1, merchandise imports in U.S. dollar terms increased by 34.81% year-on-year, with agricultural and industrial raw materials growing by 38.82% and capital equipment by 33.52% respectively.
Due to the continued momentum of corporate investment, DGBAS's preliminary estimate for real capital formation (including government, public, and private fixed investment, as well as inventory changes) was 5.20% growth, a significant increase of 4.86 percentage points from the forecast of 0.34%.
In addition to the dual engines of exports and investment, DGBAS's preliminary estimate for Q1 private consumption showed real growth of 4.89%, an increase of 2.02 percentage points from the forecast of 2.87%, and a new high in 10 quarters.
Jiang Hsin-yi stated that the wealth effect brought by the surging stock market played a certain role. Furthermore, both domestic and international tourism were very active in Q1. Besides the close proximity of this year's Lunar New Year and 228 consecutive holidays, the holiday effect was better than last year. The significantly fewer rainy days in Q1 this year compared to the same period last year also greatly increased willingness to travel. According to statistics from the Ministry of Transportation and Communications Tourism Administration, the average daily number of travelers during this year's Lunar New Year reached 645,000, a year-on-year increase of 125%. (Editor: Yang Lan-hsuan) 1150430
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