Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan's (彭淮南) performance is graded "B" this year, up from last year's "C," according to a report by Global Finance magazine scheduled to be released tomorrow.
The report, "2004 Central Banker Report Cards," lauded Perng's new-found independence to maintain "dynamic stability" in the nation's foreign exchange market, which supports its export-driven economy.
His grades in the past years slid to "C" last year and in 2002 from "B" in 2001 and "A" in 2000.
"Perng Fai-nan may go down in history as the central banker who tried to break the Central Bank of China's habit of moving in lockstep with the US Fed," the magazine said about Perng.
Global Finance also quoted Perng saying in May that the central bank may not follow the US Federal Reserve if it raises interest rates.
"Monetary policy decisions should be country-specific, and cross-country synchronization of monetary policy is not necessarily desirable," it quoted Perng as saying in Jeju Island, South Korea, during the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank.
Taiwan has cut interest rates 15 times since December 2000, matching the Fed's actions nearly exactly. Local economists and market watchers have speculated that the central bank may raise interest rates today following its quarterly board meeting to avoid inflation, following the Fed's move last week.
The magazine said that Perng's decision to put an end to his three-year expansionary policy will be supported by the nation's economic growth forecasts for this year of 5.9 percent, and inflation that is unlikely to top 1.5 percent despite higher oil prices.
The annual survey rated the performance of 30 central bankers in the world this year, including those in 12 Asian countries.
Among the Asian bankers, Perng was awarded the same score as five of his counterparts, including India's Yaga Venugopal Reddy, Japan's Toshihiko Fukui, New Zealand's Alan Bollard, the Philippines' Rafael Buenaventura and Singapore's Park Seung.
Perng, however, outshone China's Zhou Xiaochuan (
According to Global Finance, some central bankers stand out for their improved handling of their country's economy. They include Switzerland's Jean-Pierre Roth, whose grade leapt from "D" to "B" in recognition of his startling turnaround, and Canada's David Dodge, whose grade inched up half a grade from "D" to "C+."
The magazine awarded the Fed chairman Alan Greenspan a "C" this year on the basis that "he's done a reasonable job in what remain difficult circumstances." Global Finance said it expects Greenspan's grade to improve next year.
MULTIFACETED: A task force has analyzed possible scenarios and created responses to assist domestic industries in dealing with US tariffs, the economics minister said The Executive Yuan is tomorrow to announce countermeasures to US President Donald Trump’s planned reciprocal tariffs, although the details of the plan would not be made public until Monday next week, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. The Cabinet established an economic and trade task force in November last year to deal with US trade and tariff related issues, Kuo told reporters outside the legislature in Taipei. The task force has been analyzing and evaluating all kinds of scenarios to identify suitable responses and determine how best to assist domestic industries in managing the effects of Trump’s tariffs, he
TIGHT-LIPPED: UMC said it had no merger plans at the moment, after Nikkei Asia reported that the firm and GlobalFoundries were considering restarting merger talks United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電), the world’s No. 4 contract chipmaker, yesterday launched a new US$5 billion 12-inch chip factory in Singapore as part of its latest effort to diversify its manufacturing footprint amid growing geopolitical risks. The new factory, adjacent to UMC’s existing Singapore fab in the Pasir Res Wafer Fab Park, is scheduled to enter volume production next year, utilizing mature 22-nanometer and 28-nanometer process technologies, UMC said in a statement. The company plans to invest US$5 billion during the first phase of the new fab, which would have an installed capacity of 30,000 12-inch wafers per month, it said. The
Taiwan’s official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) last month rose 0.2 percentage points to 54.2, in a second consecutive month of expansion, thanks to front-loading demand intended to avoid potential US tariff hikes, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. While short-term demand appeared robust, uncertainties rose due to US President Donald Trump’s unpredictable trade policy, CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s economy this year would be characterized by high-level fluctuations and the volatility would be wilder than most expect, Lien said Demand for electronics, particularly semiconductors, continues to benefit from US technology giants’ effort
‘SWASTICAR’: Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s close association with Donald Trump has prompted opponents to brand him a ‘Nazi’ and resulted in a dramatic drop in sales Demonstrators descended on Tesla Inc dealerships across the US, and in Europe and Canada on Saturday to protest company chief Elon Musk, who has amassed extraordinary power as a top adviser to US President Donald Trump. Waving signs with messages such as “Musk is stealing our money” and “Reclaim our country,” the protests largely took place peacefully following fiery episodes of vandalism on Tesla vehicles, dealerships and other facilities in recent weeks that US officials have denounced as terrorism. Hundreds rallied on Saturday outside the Tesla dealership in Manhattan. Some blasted Musk, the world’s richest man, while others demanded the shuttering of his