Taiwan is expecting to surpass last year’s 2.45% GDP growth this year despite a slowdown. Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chu Tzer-ming said the upcoming distribution of NTD6,000 (USD195) for all citizens and permanent residents would raise the GDP reading by at least 0.3 percentage points, while other stimulus programmes would lend further support. Chu said the Ministry of the Interior is to provide a once-off NTD30,000 mortgage subsidy to low-income households to ease their financial burdens, which have been worsened by inflation and interest rate hikes. Other ministries have also proposed stimulus programmes to energise private consumption, the main growth driver this year, as exports and private investment are taking a hit from a global economic slowdown.