The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday said it would give out 4 million vouchers worth NT$500 each that could be used only in restaurants, as well as at night markets, food vendors and gift shops, aiming to help small businesses that were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The vouchers would only be available to Taiwanese who use the digital version of the Quintuple Stimulus Vouchers,” the ministry said.
The Triple Stimulus Vouchers issued in July last year were claimed by the overwhelming majority of Taiwan’s residents.
Photo: CNA
However, most opted for the paper version, with only 1.78 million people choosing the digital option.
The government is seeking to raise that number, Department of Commerce head Su Wen-ling (蘇文玲) said.
“We want more people to use the digital vouchers for multiple reasons: It reduces administrative costs, lowers the risk of spreading COVID-19 and increases the share of people using digital payments, which is a goal of the government,” Su said.
The ministry’s vouchers would be given out on a first-come-first-served basis to 4 million people who sign up for the digital Quintuple Stimulus Voucher program.
Half of the voucher budget comes from the ministry’s stimulus funds, while the other half was donated by Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團).
The vouchers can only be used in restaurants and at individual vendors, including bakeries and dessert stores, but not at supermarkets or convenience stores, Su said.
“More than 99 percent of restaurants and other food vendors are small and medium-sized businesses, or even micro vendors,” Su said. “They have been disproportionately hit by the COVID-19 outbreak this year, and we are trying to direct more help toward them.”
The ministry has been working with hawkers and food stalls at night markets so that they can receive digital payments from services such as Line Pay or Jkopay Co Ltd (街口支付).
“We will announce other incentives on a rolling basis to encourage the public to use digital vouchers,” Su said.
“Since last year’s Triple Stimulus Vouchers, we have worked to make it even easier to do so,” Su added.
Anna Bhobho, a 31-year-old housewife from rural Zimbabwe, was once a silent observer in her home, excluded from financial and family decisionmaking in the deeply patriarchal society. Today, she is a driver of change in her village, thanks to an electric tricycle she owns. In many parts of rural sub-Saharan Africa, women have long been excluded from mainstream economic activities such as operating public transportation. However, three-wheelers powered by green energy are reversing that trend, offering financial opportunities and a newfound sense of importance. “My husband now looks up to me to take care of a large chunk of expenses,
SECTOR LEADER: TSMC can increase capacity by as much as 20 percent or more in the advanced node part of the foundry market by 2030, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is expected to lead its peers in the advanced 2-nanometer process technology, despite competition from Samsung Electronics Co and Intel Corp, TrendForce Corp analyst Joanne Chiao (喬安) said. TSMC’s sophisticated products and its large production scale are expected to allow the company to continue dominating the global 2-nanometer process market this year, Chiao said. The world’s largest contract chipmaker is scheduled to begin mass production of chips made on the 2-nanometer process in its Hsinchu fab in the second half of this year. It would also hold a ceremony on Monday next week to
TECH CLUSTER: The US company’s new office is in the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City, a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan US chip designer Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) yesterday launched an office in Tainan’s Gueiren District (歸仁), marking a significant milestone in the development of southern Taiwan’s artificial intelligence (AI) industry, the Tainan City Government said in a statement. AMD Taiwan general manager Vincent Chern (陳民皓) presided over the opening ceremony for the company’s new office at the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City (沙崙智慧綠能科學城), a new AI industry base and cybersecurity hub in southern Taiwan. Facilities in the new office include an information processing center, and a research and development (R&D) center, the Tainan Economic Development Bureau said. The Ministry
ADVERSARIES: The new list includes 11 entities in China and one in Taiwan, which is a local branch of Chinese cloud computing firm Inspur Group The US added dozens of entities to a trade blacklist on Tuesday, the US Department of Commerce said, in part to disrupt Beijing’s artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing capabilities. The action affects 80 entities from countries including China, the United Arab Emirates and Iran, with the commerce department citing their “activities contrary to US national security and foreign policy.” Those added to the “entity list” are restricted from obtaining US items and technologies without government authorization. “We will not allow adversaries to exploit American technology to bolster their own militaries and threaten American lives,” US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick said. The entities
RSS