Taiwan's Q3 GDP fell about 2 pct -paper

TAIPEI, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Taiwan's GDP in the third quarter might have contracted by a better-than-expected 2 percent from the year before, a local newspaper reported on Thursday, helped by strengthening exports and returning consumer confidence.

GDP growth in 2010 will also be revised upwards to 4 percent, the Chinese-language Economic Daily reported, citing preliminary figures from the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics.

The same body had said in August it expected Taiwan's economy to contract by 3.52 percent in the third quarter of this year, and to grow by 3.92 percent in 2010.

Officials at the Directorate General declined to comment on the report ahead of the official release of the data later on Thursday.

The 2010 forecast is in line with earlier comments by the island's top state planner, who told Reuters last week that the Council of Economic Planning and Development had set an economic growth target of about 4 percent for next year.

(Reporting by Kelvin Soh; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner)

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