TAIPEI. June 5: Taiwan's export growth tn the first quarter of this year was well behind Ite three major competitors tn Asia, with the annual rise hitting a low for the past 12 months of 5.1 per cent, officials said, reports AFP.

The annual growth rate in the first three months plummeted to 5.1 per cent, much lower than the 18 per cent recorded In Hong Kong and 13 per cent In Singapore. It also fell behind the 7.5 per cent recorded tn South Korea, officials of the Council for Economic Planning and Development said.

I Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea are often known as the four Aslan dragon because of their spectacular economic growth tn the past 20 years.

The growth rate also fell far behind that of mainland China which gained 14.6 per cent and was after Malaysia's 7.9 per cent and Indonesia's 7.8 per cent, the officials said.

The officials attributed the decline In the growth rate, to rising labour and productions costs in Taiwan, which resulted in a reduction in overseas orders.