Forward-looking‧Professional‧International 
February 2022  
Russia-Ukraine conflict troubles global economic recovery
Both manufacturing and service composite indicators issued by TIER dip slightly
The long intertwining Russia-Ukraine conflict has recently escalated and become one of the biggest uncertainties in addition to the Omicron variant hindering the global economic recovery. Since both Russia and Ukraine are major countries producing and exporting raw materials, the geopolitical crisis has brought inflationary pressure further to the whole world. Both manufacturing and service composite indicators issued by the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) dip slightly in January 2022 ending consecutive increasing patterns. The construction composite indicator however went up in the same months. Taiwan’s exports in January 2022 increased significantly by 16.7% compared with the same month of 2021, the consecutive eleven-month in double digit growth, as a result of a strong market demand for ICT parts and components and other merchandises in addition to much lower base effect due to the COVID-19 impacts. Regarding imports, Taiwan’s imports in January 2022 increased by 24.9% compared with imports in January of 2021, also the consecutive eleven-month in double digit growth; lower base effect would also be the main cause. Taiwan’s exports and imports in January 2022 gave a trade surplus as at US$ 4.92 billion or decrease by 20.6% year-on-year due to base effect. As the export order have continued such momentum, it is also expected that Taiwan’s exports will maintain solid in 2022. ...Read more
Taiwan ranks 6th, achieves best-ever score in Index of Economic Freedom
Taiwan ranked sixth among 184 economies and achieved its best-ever score in the 2022 Index of Economic Freedom released Feb. 14 by Washington-headquartered think tank, the Heritage Foundation and U.S.-based business daily the Wall Street Journal. With a total of 80.1 out of 100, 1.5 points higher than the 2021 edition, Taiwan finished third among 39 economies in the Asia-Pacific. It beat out South Korea, 74.6; Japan, 69.9; Malaysia, 68.1; Thailand, 63.2; and China, 48. Taiwan was classified as “free” along with six other nations: Singapore, Switzerland, Ireland, New Zealand, Luxembourg and Estonia, in that order. According to the index, Taiwan improved in four out of 12 benchmarks used to compile the rankings. The biggest gains were in judicial effectiveness and investment freedom, which rose 21.3 points and 10 points year on year to 94.2 and 70, respectively. The index attributed the two benchmark outperformances to Taiwan’s independent judiciary and robust court system, as well as a well-developed investment framework facilitating capital and goods flow. In response, the National Development Council said the report demonstrated the effectiveness of ongoing government efforts to further strengthen Taiwan’s economic climate. It is expected this momentum will be maintained throughout the year and reflected in the 2023 index, the NDC added. First released in 1995, the annual index tracks the march of economic freedom in 184 markets worldwide spanning government size, open markets, regulatory efficiency and rule of law (Source: Taiwan Today.)

No Ukraine impact on chips yet (Source: Taipei Times.)
Nearly 100 Taiwanese businesses attend presentation on Lithuanian investment opportunities (Source: Taiwan News.)
Taiwan Economic Research Monthly
A Preliminary Exploration of Taiwan's Strategic Approach to Become an Asia-Pacific Digital Hub under the Global Trend
With a unique geographical location, Taiwan has a strategic position in the East-Asian-island chain. It is an important relay station for the Asia-Pacific submarine cable network. With the global emphasis on geopolitics and clean network development, the future investment of major international cloud companies in East Asia has great potential to promote Taiwan's development into a an important cloud service node in Asia Pacific region. This article discusses the future development of Taiwan as an Asia-Pacific digital hub from the perspective of the development trend of global advanced network infrastructure, the development of Taiwan's advanced network infrastructure, the development of network data centers, the development of cloud industries, and my country's advantages compared with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region. strategic approach.
Copyright (c) 2008
All Rights Reserved by Taiwan Institute of Economic Research
Email us : d23218@tier.org.tw