Taiwan ranked 16th in this year’s global talent ranking by the International Institute for Management Development, climbing four spots from last year on the back of better employment training and initatives to attract foreign professionals, the Switzerland-based group said yesterday.
The survey compared the performance of 64 economies worldwide with regard to talent investment and development, appeal and readiness, the institute said.
Switzerland topped the list for the fifth straight year.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, Reuters
The survey showed that employees are more motivated in more competitive economies, the institute said, attributing the trend in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sweden ranked second, followed by Luxembourg, Norway and Denmark.
The National Development Council, which provided the data for Taiwan, said that the nation improved its ranking on the back of higher scores in the talent investment and development gauges, as it improved its ability to attract and retain talent.
Over the past two years, foreign professionals and overseas Taiwanese talent have increasingly opted for Taiwan, where COVID-19 had limited effect on daily lives, foreign trade groups said.
However, this advantage might abate if Taiwan keeps its tight COVID-19 curbs in place while most of the world loosens restrictions, the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan said, adding that strict border controls and quarantine requirements pose challenges for internationally operating firms.
Taiwan’s ability to connect with the world lifts its global competitiveness and presence, despite its COVID-19 strategy risking to isolate the country, the trade group said.
Regionally, Taiwan ranked third, behind 11th-ranked Hong Kong and 12th-ranked Singapore, the institute said.
South Korea ranked 34th, and China ranked 39th, it said.
Taiwan’s score was boosted by substantial improvements in its apprenticeship system and valuation of employee training, the institute said, adding that the nation ranked seventh and fifth on the respective sub-indices.
The council said that the government has tried hard to build bridges between educational institutions and the private sector.
However, Taiwan has a lot of room for improvement in public education spending, ranking 50th in the survey and losing five spots since last year, the council said.
The government has earmarked NT$15 billion (US$541.32 million) for a special program to upgrade digital infrastructure at schools and is planning to spend another NT$20 billion on Internet applications at elementary and junior high schools, the council said.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS