With premier-designate Su Tseng-chang's (
Joseph Lyu (
"Neither of them are heavyweights but both are entrusted with heavyweight tasks," said Thomas Lee (
Their ability to rapidly deal with public affairs and carry out national economic policies will determine how well they stand up to public scrutiny, he added.
Known as a seasoned banker, Lyu's appointment to the finance ministry was viewed by many as odd, since the ministry's main function now is to pursue more fair taxation, while dealing with stake-holdings in state-run financial institutions is a secondary task, Lee said.
But if the legislature passes revisions to the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan (
However, this could also mean that the ministry's efforts to push through tax reform could fail, despite its initial success in passing the alternative minimum tax late last year.
Lin yesterday threw his full support behind his successor, Lyu, saying that Lyu's rich experience and strong capabilities will help him weather difficulties.
For his part, Huang will face stiff challenges after taking the helm of the economic affairs ministry, Lee said.
Huang is a former dean of National Taipei University's business school and was an executive at several private companies for more than 20 years.
His experience in chairing the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (
Huang's first challenge will be how to deal with the possible hikes in utility fees after the Lunar New Year, which always triggers dissatisfaction and will give the public a chance to examine his political wisdom, the professor noted.
Meanwhile, foreign business groups also said that they hope the new ministers make their plans for the next two years as soon as possible in order to achieve better policy transparency and stability.
"We expect them to get down to the business quickly, as time is running out," Guy Wittich, chief executive officer of European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT), said in a phone interview yesterday. He cited worries about Taiwan's weakening competitiveness compared with other countries in the region such as South Korea, and slowing economic growth.
With frequent political shakeups, foreign businesspeople expect the government to deliver consistent policy in order to help their business activities here, American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) Executive Director Richard Vuylsteke said.
Further normalization of cross-strait relations, including facilitating the free flow of personnel across the Taiwan Strait and lifting import bans on products or components manufactured in China, remain top priorities for both foreign business chambers, both chamber heads said.
Improving market access through measures such as scrapping technical trade barriers is also an area in which the foreign business community wants the new government to make substantial progress, Wittich said.
Vuylsteke agreed, and acknowledged the authorities' efforts to implement financial reforms.
SEMICONDUCTORS: The firm has already completed one fab, which is to begin mass producing 2-nanomater chips next year, while two others are under construction Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, plans to begin construction of its fourth and fifth wafer fabs in Kaohsiung next year, targeting the development of high-end processes. The two facilities — P4 and P5 — are part of TSMC’s production expansion program, which aims to build five fabs in Kaohsiung. TSMC facility division vice president Arthur Chuang (莊子壽) on Thursday said that the five facilities are expected to create 8,000 jobs. To respond to the fast-changing global semiconductor industry and escalating international competition, TSMC said it has to keep growing by expanding its production footprints. The P4 and P5
DOWNFALL: The Singapore-based oil magnate Lim Oon Kuin was accused of hiding US$800 million in losses and leaving 20 banks with substantial liabilities Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin (林恩強) has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd (興隆貿易) and his children Lim Huey Ching (林慧清) and Lim Chee Meng (林志朋) were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on Dec. 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte Ltd are the trustees, according to the gazette. At its peak, Hin Leong traded a range of oil products, made lubricants and operated loading
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
RSS