13/10/2024 - 08:34:53

East Timor

National Flag

 

Map

8

Basic Info

Timor-Leste is located at the easternmost tip of the Nusa Tenggara Islands in Southeast Asia, with West Timor of Indonesia to its west, and across the Timor Sea to Australia in the south. It has a land area of about 15 thousands square kilometres and a population of about 1.35 million by the end of 2023 (estimate of IMF). The capital, Dili, is located on the northeast coast of the island of Timor. It is a deep-water port and the national political, economic and cultural centre.

Investment Situation

Timor-Leste is readily waiting for revitalization with relatively slow development over the years. However with the gradual implementation of the national medium- and long-term strategic development plan and a large oil reserve, it will continuously bring about the needs of construction projects in the future, bringing more investments from various types of funds namely private entities, international organizations and other countries. TimorLeste might embrace a period of rapid development. At the same time, many countries have implemented tariff-free treatment for most of products originated from Timor-Leste, which has created good opportunities for enterprises and individuals to develop foreign trade, investment and businesses. Timor-Leste is an agricultural country, more than 80% of active population are engaged in agricultural activities, but agriculture is still underdeveloped and food is not self-sufficient. Main agricultural products include corn, grain, potato, etc, cash crops include coffee, rubber, coconut, etc. About 10% of the workforce is engaged in industrial production, including textiles, drinking water bottling and coffee processing. The service industry is another important economic component, which is highly concentrated in the capital Dili. Due to the influx of foreign capital, service industries like trade, catering and hotels have achieved rapid development.  According to the “2023 World Investment Report” published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), by the end of 2022, Timor-Leste has attracted US$1.5 billion on stock of inward direct investment. According to statistics from the Ministry of Commerce of China, by the end of 2022, the stock of direct investment of China in Timor-Leste was US$95.28 million. The main areas of investment were restaurants, hotels, department stores, construction materials and service industry.

Trade in Goods

In 2022, Timor-Leste’s main export destinations are China, Indonesia and Korea. The main export goods are petroleum and coffee. The main origins for imports are Indonesia, China, Singapore, Taiwan (China), and the main imported goods are refined oil, automobile, machinery and accessories. In 2023, China’s exports to Timor-Leste amounted to US$260 million, mainly include welded pipe and polished rice. Goods imported from Timor-Leste amounted to US$80 million, mainly include crude oil and coffee.

 

Economic Indicators

 

2021

2022

2023

Population (million)

1.31

1.33

1.35

GDP (US$ billion)

3.62

3.21

2.34

Real GDP Growth Rate (%)

1.6

4.0

1.5

Total Export of Goods (US$ million)

616

473

295

Total Import of Goods (US$ million)

873

934

894

Total Export of Services (US$ million)

28*

56*

69

Total Import of Services (US$ million)

723*

617*

398

Inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index (Annual Inflation rate%)

3.8

7.0

8.4

Current Account Balance (US$ billion)

0.151

0.273

-0.373

Source: “*” Data from World Trade Organization International Monetary Fund (IMF)

 

Statistics on the Trade of Goods between Mainland China and Timor-Leste of recent three years (US$ thousands)

Year

Total Trade

Total Exports Value

Total Imports Value

2023

336,396

261,792

74,603

2022

435,840

290,483

145,357

2021

373,585

260,433

113,151

Remarks: “Exports” refers of goods exported to Timor-Leste from Mainland China; “Imports” refers of goods imported from Timor-Leste to Mainland China Source of Data: General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China  

 

Statistics on the Trade of Goods between the Macao SAR and Timor-Leste of recent three years (US$) (USD 1 MOP 8)

Year

Total Trade

Total Exports Value

Total Imports Value

2023

206,670.0

0

206,670.0

2022

746.8

746.8

0

2021

0

0

0

Remarks: “Exports” refers of goods exported to Timor-Leste from Macao; “Imports” refers of goods imported from Timor-Leste to Macao. Source: Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Macao SAR Government

 

Source:

  • “Country (region) guide for foreign investment co-operation (Timor-Leste)” by the Ministry of Commerce the People’s Republic of China 
  • “2022 Statistical Bulletin of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment” by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, National Bureau of Statistics and State Administration of Foreign Exchange
  • General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China
  • SinoMaps Press
  • Statistics and Census Service (DSEC), Macao SAR Government
  • Statistics Timor-Leste
  • International Monetary Fund (IMF)
  • World Trade Organization (WTO)
  • International Trade Center (ITC)
  • “2023 World Investment Report” by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Updated in April 2024