To recreate the nation’s “economic miracle,” President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said yesterday that his government would increase the National Development Fund to NT$1 trillion (US$31.25 billion) and use the money to invest in the “2.5 industry,” a business straddling the manufacturing and service sectors.
“When we are able to reduce the external risk, we are much more able to create maybe a new miracle for Taiwan’s economy,” Ma said in English while addressing an international forum on capital venture at the International Convention Center in Taipei.
Ma said the rapid decline in the country’s manufacturing industry was a serious matter. About 20 years ago, Ma said the manufacturing industry represented 40 percent of the total economy, but the figure has gone down to 22 percent, while in other countries such as South Korea and Singapore it accounts for about 30 percent.
“Certainly, we are very interested in developing our service industry, but the manufacturing industry continues to be the biggest providers [sic] of jobs in our economy,” he said. “So we hope in the future we could develop our manufacturing industry in the form of something between the secondary industry. People sometimes call it the ‘2.5 industry.’ It’s not second, it’s not third. It’s in-between. It’s a very professional service industry between manufacturing and service.”
Ma said the government would augment the National Development Fund from NT$200 billion to NT$1 trillion, adding that the money would be invested in strategic industries. The “2.5 industry” would be the potential target, he said.
Ma said the country had felt the pinch of the global economic downturn and that its economic growth rate had slowed in the third quarter.
The current quarter and the first quarter of next year are expected to see negative growth, he said.
“But we are relatively confident that we would make a comeback sometime [in] the latter part of next year,” he said. “We are pretty confident that the fundamentals of our economy remain sound. Our foreign exchange reserve stands at US$280 billion. The most important thing is that we have very little foreign debt.”
Among the government plans to stimulate the economy, Ma said the infrastructure construction project package aimed at increasing domestic demand and the distribution of the NT$3,600 in consumer vouchers is estimated to boost the GDP by 0.64 percent next year.
They are also mapping out a new proposal, dubbed “forward-looking domestic market,” he said, with the object of creating a better environment for industries of mobile and wireless communications and new-generation display technology.
Ma said “how the greater Chinese area in this part of the world performs” will be important.
“I’m sure with our efforts that I described above, we will be able to get us out of this situation next year, hoping to create another economic boom,” he said. “But I know we still have a long way to go and many battles to fight.”
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS