Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said yesterday that recent movements in various indicators showed that Taiwan’s economy will be strong this year.
Addressing the opening ceremony of a job fair in Taipei, Shih expressed confidence that Taiwan’s economy has recovered and employment is rising.
“Taiwan’s economy should be strong this year,” Shih said, citing many economic indicators.
FORECASTS
Shih said the IMF expected Taiwan to achieve GDP growth of 6.5 percent this year, and the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) has forecast the economy to grow by at least 5 percent.
If those forecasts prove correct, Taiwan’s economic growth will outpace that of the other Asian Tigers — Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore — Shih added.
In addition, Shih said the value of export orders and industrial production both set a new high last month, indicating that Taiwan’s economy is growing at a fast pace, which will contribute to increasing jobs in the private sector.
A total of 507 companies participated in the job fair organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs for enterprises in northern Taiwan, where more than 35,000 jobs were offered.
Taiwan’s unemployment rate dropped last month to 5.67 percent, down 0.09 percentage points from the previous month, with the unemployed total at 624,000, down 10,000.
EARLY HARVEST
Separately, Shih said that Taiwan and China were likely to complete an “early harvest list” in the fourth round of bilateral talks on a cross-strait economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA).
“Taiwan and China will be able to fix the major items to be included on the list in their third-round talks, which may take place in late April or early May,” Shih told reporters.
“Therefore, the two sides are expected to settle the ‘early harvest list’ in the fourth talks, and it could be published if both sides agree to do so,” he added.
The “early harvest list” is a list of items that would enjoy an immediate reduction or elimination of tariffs after (and if) an ECFA is signed.
The priority tax cut list is the centerpiece of the agreement, which the government says will help Taiwan avoid marginalization amid increasingly integrated trade in the region.
Shih said the machinery, textile, petrochemical and transportation industries, as well as a few categories of information-related products, will be included on the “early harvest list” to be put forth by his ministry.
“One thing is for sure, Taiwan’s ‘early harvest list’ will be more comprehensive than China’s,” he added.
This means that the number of items and their total export value will certainly be higher than China’s because of the difference in the size of the two markets, he said.
HANDOVER POLICY: Approving the probe means that the new US administration of Donald Trump is likely to have the option to impose trade restrictions on China US President Joe Biden’s administration is set to initiate a trade investigation into Chinese semiconductors in the coming days as part of a push to reduce reliance on a technology that US officials believe poses national security risks. The probe could result in tariffs or other measures to restrict imports on older-model semiconductors and the products containing them, including medical devices, vehicles, smartphones and weaponry, people familiar with the matter said. The investigation examining so-called foundational chips could take months to conclude, meaning that any reaction to the findings would be left to the discretion of US president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming team. Biden
INVESTMENT: Jun Seki, chief strategy officer for Hon Hai’s EV arm, and his team are currently in talks in France with Renault, Nissan’s 36 percent shareholder Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), the iPhone maker known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally, is in talks with Nissan Motor Co’s biggest shareholder Renault SA about its willingness to sell its shares in the Japanese automaker, the Central News Agency (CNA) said, citing people it did not identify. Nissan and fellow Japanese automaker, Honda Motor Co, are exploring a merger that would create a rival to Toyota Motor Corp in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. However, one potential spanner in the works is
HON HAI LURKS: The ‘Nikkei’ reported that Foxconn’s interest in Nissan accelerated the Honda-merger effort out of fears it might be taken over by the Taiwanese firm Nissan Motor Co has become the latest buyout target in Japan as it explores a merger with Honda Motor Co and faces an overture from Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) internationally. Shares in Nissan yesterday jumped 24 percent, the most on record, to hit the daily limit, after the two Japanese automakers acknowledged that talks are ongoing to better position themselves for competitive challenges during a time of upheaval in the global auto industry. Foxconn — a Taipei-based manufacturer of iPhones, which has been investing heavily in factories to build electric vehicles — has also
CHIP SUBSIDY: The US funding would help alleviate the financial pressure from building two fabs in the US and should lift gross margins in 2026, the company said GlobalWafers Co (環球晶圓), the world’s third-largest silicon wafer supplier, yesterday said it is to receive US$406 million in subsidies from the US Department of Commerce for two new US fabs under the CHIPS and Science Act, with the first batch of the funds likely coming next year. The grant represents 10 percent of the planned investments of US$4 billion in advanced semiconductor wafer manufacturing facilities in Texas and Missouri, GlobalWafers said. The commerce department is to disburse the funds based on the completion of project milestones over a multiyear timeframe, the company said. Along with the tax credit, which is equal to
RSS