Why Taiwan is Asia Pacific’s most promising market for 2022

Taiwan offers the most promising opportunities for investors and exporters across Asia-Pacific this year, Atradius research finds.

Atradius’s 2022 Most Promising Markets report identifies five markets set to surprise in the months ahead, including Taiwan, Israel, Qatar, Cote d’Ivoire and Uruguay.

While the global economic recovery from the pandemic is bumpy, the economies of these five markets are recovering well and their outlooks generally well-insulated from negative pandemic developments thanks to extensive vaccination rollouts and/or low infections rates.

The resumption of economic activity is contributing to brighter prospects in the tourism and hospitality sectors while the acceleration of digital adoption for consumers is keeping up demand for transport and logistics. The global energy transition is also driving policy initiatives in several of these markets, pushing up demand in the renewable energy and electricity sectors, especially for EVs.

Atradius assessed the economic performance, macroeconomic strength and Covid-19 situation of countries worldwide.

Taiwan’s economy benefitting from global pandemic-related shifts

Taiwan has a strong business climate, and its economy has hardly been scathed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The economy is forecast to grow 3.0% in 2022, driven by robust export growth.

The outlook for the business environment is positive, supported by good infrastructure, advanced manufacturing capabilities and the high level of innovation, especially in the technology sector. Taiwan is a well-known ICT manufacturing hub and world leader in the production of electronic intermediate goods. With the worldwide chip shortage persisting through 2022, growth prospects in this sector remain bright.

Thanks to the global orientation of its intermediate electronics production, the sector is insulated from any domestic restrictions that could be implemented in the downside scenario of a Covid-19 outbreak.

As an ICT hub, high-tech services are an increasingly important sector. Rising demand is driven by the shifting consumer behaviour towards more digital adoption, a trend accelerated by the pandemic.

Atradius expects the country’s e-commerce market to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.0% to 2024. While not unique to Taiwan, this boosts demand for logistics services and offers growth opportunities in the transport sector.