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TAIPEI, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- A Taiwan think tank Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER) raised its forecast for Taiwan's annual economic growth for 2016 to reflect improvement of demand inside the island.
The island's gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow at an annual rate of 1.03 percent this year, slightly higher than its last estimate of 0.84 percent, CIER said in its latest economic forecast.
Taiwan's economy expanded 0.65 percent in 2015.
CIER said demand inside the island will contribute the most to annual growth, or 1.33 percentage points.
CIER estimates that Taiwan's private consumption will grow 1.47 percent, and investment will climb 1.27 percent. Imports are likely to grow 0.5 percent while exports will stay flat.
Taiwan's economy will post better performance in the second half due to lower comparison basis in the same period a year ago and recovering high-tech industry, CIER experts said at a press briefing.
CIER predicts the island's economy will grow at an annual rate of 1.81 percent in 2017 driven by the improving global outlook.
