Taiwan's economy expanded 12.92 percent in the second quarter compared with a year earlier, marking the fastest pace for the April-June period in 39 years and far exceeding forecasts. The result surpassed the government's May projection of 10.83 percent by 2.09 percentage points. Combined with a 14.55 percent first-quarter expansion, first-half growth reached 13.72 percent, the strongest such performance in half a century.
Merchandise exports in U.S. dollar terms rose 43.73 percent year-on-year in the second quarter, while capital formation grew 15.14 percent, driven in part by a 40.38 percent increase in semiconductor equipment imports. Private consumption rose 5.88 percent, the fastest pace in 11 quarters.
Investors reacted enthusiastically. Taiwan's benchmark stock index closed up eight percent, with shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company climbing nearly 10 percent in their biggest single-day gain since 2020.