The government is considering expanding its stimulus initiative for local industries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its so-called “Stimulus 3.0” program is on the way, Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) said yesterday.
In a radio interview with Clara Chou (周玉蔻), Wang said the Executive Yuan is to finalize plans for another round of stimulus funds next week, before sending them to the Legislative Yuan for approval.
The government has already spent NT$200 billion (US$6.8 million) helping firms combat the COVID-19-related slowdown.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
As the funds for the “Stimulus 2.0” program ran out early, the ministry on Wednesday terminated its relief programs rather than running them until the end of the month as planned.
Stimulus 3.0 is likely to add another NT$200 billion of relief, which would be allocated to support Taiwanese businesses hardest hit by COVID-19, mostly in the manufacturing sector, Wang said.
Companies whose revenue has decreased by 50 percent would be eligible for government assistance with employee wages and operating expenses, she added.
The exact details of the plan are to be discussed at the Executive Yuan, she said.
Although Taiwan is emerging largely unscathed from the pandemic compared with other nations, many sectors have still been heavily affected, Wang said.
“Orders in the traditional manufacturing sector such as textile and heavy machinery industries have dried up severely,” she said.
On the bright side, the service sector has recovered and no longer requires government stimulus, while some high-tech manufacturers have actually benefited from increased demand for work-from-home or distance learning devices worldwide, Wang said.
Separately, people have claimed nearly 6.7 million vouchers as part of the government’s Triple Stimulus Voucher program, which started on Wednesday, with 1.73 million claimed electronically, the ministry’s data showed.
The vouchers can be spent like cash until the end of the year, but cannot be exchanged for cash as they are meant to stimulate the economy rather than contribute to savings, the ministry said.
Businesses can take the vouchers to banks or post offices to exchange them starting from Thursday next week, it said.
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