The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) will be offering a special financial aid program to companies affected by Typhoon Morakat, it said in a statement released yesterday.
Local small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) can apply for loans that cover up to 80 percent of reported damage caused by the typhoon, with an upward limit of NT$30 million (US$914,000) from Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) and Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行) at an annual percentage rate (APY) of 2.125 percent, provided that they show proof of the damage that has been confirmed by local government.
Money from the Small and Medium Business Credit Guarantee Fund (中小企業信保基金) will be used to assist companies that do not have enough collateral for a loan, SMEA said. For those SMEs that experience cashflow problems, SMEA has asked them to contact related SMEA departments to facilitate a talks.
In related news, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) yesterday announced a donation of NT$100 million to typhoon-hit victims.
Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中信銀) followed suit, donating NT$20 million, half of which will be at the disposal of the Red Cross for relief work, while Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金) and Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金) decided to contribute NT$20 million and NT$15 million, respectively.
President Enterprises Group (統一企業), which provided 700 cases of instant noodles, 1,200 boxes of mineral water and 12,000 loaves of bread, also announced a donation of NT$10 million toward community relief yesterday, the Central News Agency reported.
The food conglomerate yesterday said that it hoped such efforts would inspire other corporations or individuals to volunteer in times of need. Kinmen Alcohol Corp (金門酒廠) also donated NT$10 million each to Taitung, Pintung and Kaohsiung counties to help citizens rebuild their neighborhoods.
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would delay the collection of premiums from its typhoon-hit policyholders for two months, while accelerating claims made by the policyholders.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOYCE HUANG
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
RSS