Taiwan trimmed its forecast for economic growth this year for a third time amid a gloomy outlook for exports, after a sharp slowdown in investment by tech companies helped push the island into a mild recession in the fourth quarter. 

In a sign that this year will be a tough one for Asia's exporters, the government put 2012 growth at 3.91 percent, less than the 4.19 percent it forecast late last year and the third cut since an initial forecast of 4.51 percent made in mid-2011. 

The economy shrank 0.25 percent in the fourth quarter on a seasonally-adjusted quarterly basis, after contracting 0.21 percent in the June-September period. Most economists define a recession as two consecutive quarters of shrinkage.