Taiwan should emulate Thailand by marketing its traditional foods internationally, officials from the Council for Economic Planning and Development said yesterday.
The success of the "Thailand: Kitchen of the World" campaign, launched by the Thai government in 2000, could be a model for Taiwan to follow in exporting traditional foods and restaurants overseas, council officials said.
The Thai campaign helped exports of traditional foods and related products top US$10 billion in 2004, the officials said.
Citing a case study conducted by the Jinwen Institute of Science and Technology, the officials said Thailand was the first Asian country to boost the export of its food culture through the efforts of governmental agencies working with finance, commerce, education and diplomatic affairs.
In addition to increasing the country's revenues, the officials said, the export of Thai foods and restaurants has helped promote Thailand's culture throughout the world.
The officials suggested that Taiwan's government establish a certification system for domestic restaurants or individuals interested in exporting Taiwanese cuisine overseas and help fund their efforts to take their restaurant operations international.
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
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
TRENDS: The bitcoin rally sparked by US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory has slowed down, partly due to outflows from exchange-traded funds for the token Gold is heading for one of its biggest annual gains this century, with a 27 percent advance that has been fueled by US monetary easing, sustained geopolitical risks and a wave of purchases by central banks. While bullion has ticked lower since US president-elect Donald Trump’s sweeping victory in last month’s election, its gains this year still outstrip most other commodities. Base metals have had a mixed year, while iron ore has tumbled, and lithium’s woes have deepened. The varied performances highlight the absence of a single, over-riding driver that has steered the complex’s fortunes, while also putting the spotlight
Ibiden Co, the dominant supplier of chip package substrates used in Nvidia Corp’s cutting-edge semiconductors, might need to dial up the pace of production capacity increases to keep up with demand, company CEO Koji Kawashima said. Sales of the 112-year-old company’s artificial intelligence (AI)-use substrates are robust, with customers buying up all that Ibiden has, Kawashima said. That demand is likely to last at least through next year, he added. Ibiden is building a new substrate factory in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, which is expected to go online at 25 percent production capacity around the last quarter of next year before reaching 50