Business environment to soar
The nation's business environment will improve dramatically over the next five years, according to a report from UK-based research body, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
By looking at 70 factors across 10 categories that affect the opportunities for, and hindrances to, the conduct of business, EIU compiles a score for the quality and attractiveness of the business environment in 60 countries.
Taiwan is currently ranked 21, but will move up to 17 by year end 2007, moving past Austria, Norway, Spain and Chile, the report says. Canada will move up from fourth place to take the crown as the most-competitive nation from the US, which will drop to fifth place.
"This is the result of the US' increased exposure to geopolitical risk, major imbalances in the economy, and weakening public finances," the report said.
Only two other Asian countries will be more competitive than Taiwan by 2007, Singapore and Hong Kong in seventh and eighth place. South Korea will rank 25 and Japan 27.
Multilateral negotiations better
Taiwan's representative to the WTO said Tuesday at a meeting of the Trade Negotiation Council that the country is in favor of the multilateral trade-negotiation system being promoted under the framework of the WTO.
Yen Ching-chang (顏慶章) said that every member of the WTO will benefit from the system if it is properly implemented.
The system is especially valuable in promoting free trade at a time when the global economy is in recession.
Yen also explained the government's positions on certain issues regarding the WTO's agenda and he said that new members of the organization should be given a grace period to lower tariffs on imports of non-agricultural products.
He also said that the draft formula for tariff reduction being studied by the WTO could unfairly force low-tariff countries to sacrifice more than other countries.
Yu lauds Taiwan's advantages
Premier Yu Shyi-kun claimed yesterday that Taiwan is the best place to set up a global logistics base because of its location, strong manufacturing ability and free financial environment.
Yu made the remarks when he attended the anniversary of the transshipment center of FedEx at CKS International Airport.
He said the nation has spared no efforts in promoting itself as an operations bases, adding that the "Challenge 2008" six-year national development plan unveiled last year envisioned attracting 200 major enterprises to set up global operations bases here, with 1,000 enterprises setting up regional operations bases here by 2011.
Yu said that to achieve the goal, the government has five development strategies, which he listed as the establishment of free-trade harbor zones, tax incentives, coordination of seaports and airports, barrier-free customs clearance service and computerization of the industry operations.
Rail laying begins today
Work to lay the rails of the Taiwan High-Speed Railway will begin today, an official of the Taiwan High-Speed Railway Co (台灣高鐵) said yesterday.
The official said that the construction work for the 345km railway between Taipei and Kaohsiung is proceeding on schedule.
Test runs on the high speed railway are scheduled to begin next summer, with the line expected to become commercially operational in October 2005.
NT dollar weakens
The New Taiwan dollar yesterday turned weak against its US counterpart, falling NT$0.046 to close at NT$34.410 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$422 million.
CAUTIOUS RECOVERY: While the manufacturing sector returned to growth amid the US-China trade truce, firms remain wary as uncertainty clouds the outlook, the CIER said The local manufacturing sector returned to expansion last month, as the official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose 2.1 points to 51.0, driven by a temporary easing in US-China trade tensions, the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said yesterday. The PMI gauges the health of the manufacturing industry, with readings above 50 indicating expansion and those below 50 signaling contraction. “Firms are not as pessimistic as they were in April, but they remain far from optimistic,” CIER president Lien Hsien-ming (連賢明) said at a news conference. The full impact of US tariff decisions is unlikely to become clear until later this month
With an approval rating of just two percent, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte might be the world’s most unpopular leader, according to pollsters. Protests greeted her rise to power 29 months ago, and have marked her entire term — joined by assorted scandals, investigations, controversies and a surge in gang violence. The 63-year-old is the target of a dozen probes, including for her alleged failure to declare gifts of luxury jewels and watches, a scandal inevitably dubbed “Rolexgate.” She is also under the microscope for a two-week undeclared absence for nose surgery — which she insists was medical, not cosmetic — and is
GROWING CONCERN: Some senior Trump administration officials opposed the UAE expansion over fears that another TSMC project could jeopardize its US investment Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is evaluating building an advanced production facility in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has discussed the possibility with officials in US President Donald Trump’s administration, people familiar with the matter said, in a potentially major bet on the Middle East that would only come to fruition with Washington’s approval. The company has had multiple meetings in the past few months with US Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and officials from MGX, an influential investment vehicle overseen by the UAE president’s brother, the people said. The conversations are a continuation of talks that
CHIP DUTIES: TSMC said it voiced its concerns to Washington about tariffs, telling the US commerce department that it wants ‘fair treatment’ to protect its competitiveness Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday reiterated robust business prospects for this year as strong artificial intelligence (AI) chip demand from Nvidia Corp and other customers would absorb the impacts of US tariffs. “The impact of tariffs would be indirect, as the custom tax is the importers’ responsibility, not the exporters,” TSMC chairman and chief executive officer C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said at the chipmaker’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Hsinchu City. TSMC’s business could be affected if people become reluctant to buy electronics due to inflated prices, Wei said. In addition, the chipmaker has voiced its concern to the US Department of Commerce
RSS