Noting that Taiwan's economy is recovering, President Chen Shui-bian (
The president made the remarks after meeting with his economic advisors. It was the first time that Chen met with his economic team since he was reelected in March.
The eight-member group is headed by former Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yi (
Other members are Taiwan Institute of Economic Research President Wu Rong-I (
"I look for panel members to provide broad, long-term economic and industrial policy advice," Chen said.
The Cabinet-level Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics last week revised the nation's economic growth rate to 5.87 percent for the year, up from its 5.41 percent forecast in May.
Chen said that although this would be the best performance in four years, soaring oil prices, interest rate hikes by industrialized countries, inflation and terrorist threats around the world may be stumbling blocks to higher economic growth in Taiwan.
At a news conference held following the meeting, Lin said that the group's purpose was to brief the president on the state of the economy and that no significant policy measures were put forward by the advisors.
Lin said that the president wants to discuss the privatization of state-own corporations and state-own financial organizations at the panel's next meeting, along with a host of other issues such as reform of the nations public-health system, which is bleeding vast amounts of red inks.
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RECORD LOW: Global firms’ increased inventories, tariff disputes not yet impacting Taiwan and new graduates not yet entering the market contributed to the decrease Taiwan’s unemployment rate last month dropped to 3.3 percent, the lowest for the month in 25 years, as strong exports and resilient domestic demand boosted hiring across various sectors, the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) said yesterday. After seasonal adjustments, the jobless rate eased to 3.34 percent, the best performance in 24 years, suggesting a stable labor market, although a mild increase is expected with the graduation season from this month through August, the statistics agency said. “Potential shocks from tariff disputes between the US and China have yet to affect Taiwan’s job market,” Census Department Deputy Director Tan Wen-ling
UNCERTAINTIES: The world’s biggest chip packager and tester is closely monitoring the US’ tariff policy before making any capacity adjustments, a company official said ASE Technology Holding Inc (日月光投控), the world’s biggest chip packager and tester, yesterday said it is cautiously evaluating new advanced packaging capacity expansion in the US in response to customers’ requests amid uncertainties about the US’ tariff policy. Compared with its semiconductor peers, ASE has been relatively prudent about building new capacity in the US. However, the company is adjusting its global manufacturing footprint expansion after US President Donald Trump announced “reciprocal” tariffs in April, and new import duties targeting semiconductors and other items that are vital to national security. ASE subsidiary Siliconware Precision Industries Co (SPIL, 矽品精密) is participating in Nvidia
RSS