Interestingly, South Korea announced its strongest economic growth since 2021 at a better-than-expected 3.6% y-o-y for 1Q2026, driven by strong net exports (1.1 ppts) and a solid contribution from domestic demand (0.6 ppts).
During DBS Group Holdings’ 1Q2026 results briefing, group CEO Tan Su Shan sounded decidedly positive on Taiwan. “Particularly pleasing was Taiwan. [Our] Taiwan consumer banking franchise is up strongly. Wealth Management in Taiwan is up 30% and we just opened in Kaohsiung as well a special SEZ. We have a new wealth management license there. Taiwan’s GDP growth has been very strong. Our focus has been around both the semiconductor ecosystem for Taiwan, for TMT generally, and also for data centres,” Tan describes.
Indeed, Taiwan’s 1Q2026 GDP grew by 13.7% y-o-y, its fastest pace since 1987, underpinned by demand for AI servers and high-end chips. Net exports doubled in 1Q2026 compared to 4Q2025. Taiwan’s manufacturing sector’s growth was supported by advanced semiconductor processes and packaging capacity.
