Artificial intelligence has been a dominant theme in global stock markets this year. But when it comes to economies in the Asia Pacific, there's one location that’s really feeling the AI impact.
Taiwan's economy has not grown this fast for 15 years. The government just boosted its economic forecast for 2025 to 7.37%.
Exports were up by nearly a third in the latest quarter.
Here's a little perspective on these numbers — if the year ends as currently expected.
Taiwan's economy will have grown faster than China's. And a bit more context: that's happened twice in the last 35 years.
One point of agreement — this is all about AI.
That's the demand point that's pushing the growth — along with some help from consumer electronics — many of which have AI components.
But it's not all balloons and champagne — this is a concentrated burst of growth — and average consumers and residents in Taiwan are not feeling an extraordinary boost of wealth.
Consumer spending and consumer confidence have both been uneven this year.
Wages have grown — but they started from a relatively low base compared to Taiwan's regional peers.
One area that is seeing increased spending: the military.
Last week, Taiwan's president announced the government's largest supplemental defense budget in 30 years.
