TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Goldman Sachs has lowered its GDP growth forecast for the “Four Asian Tigers,” namely Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg.

The latest estimate for Taiwan’s GDP growth rate in 2019 has dropped from 2.4 percent to 2.3 percent. This is ahead of South Korea’s 1.9 percent, Singapore’s 0.4 percent, and Hong Kong’s 0.2 percent.

Andrew Tilton at Goldman Sachs explained that a deep connection with the global economy has helped the four economies benefit from globalization and regional economic development over the past few decades. However, it is also a double-edged sword, making them more vulnerable to the recent global economic downturn and trade frictions.

The report said the estimated Taiwan GDP growth rate dropped by just 1 percent. This was because the negative impact caused by the U.S.-China trade war is expected to be largely compensated for by an increase in Taiwan exports to the U.S.

Estimates for South Korea dropped 0.3 percent and for Singapore 0.7 percent, while for Hong Kong the estimate remains low due to both the U.S.-China trade war and the ongoing protests.