Chen lauds the nation's SMEs

President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday lauded Taiwan's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) for their "outstanding performance," saying they are a foundation for helping Taiwan compete with other countries in the "knowledge-based economy" of the 21st century.

Chen, who returned on Sunday from a 13-day visit to Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Central America and the Caribbean, made the comments while addressing the opening of the nation's first national small and medium-sized enterprises development conference held in Taipei.

The two-day conference, which has been organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is aimed at helping SMEs to respond effectively to the challenges posed by the changing international economic environment.

Saying that Taiwan's SMEs are dynamic and innovative and can quickly adapt to changing situations, the president noted that according to the government's Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises White Paper 2005, "the island has more than 1.164 million SMEs, employing some 7.55 million people and generating total gross revenues of more than NT$9.35 trillion (US$281.3 billion).

"This shows that SMEs are not only a foundation for the island's economic development, but also one of the most important forces in terms of social stability and job creation," he said.

As the continuing growth of the knowledge-based economy and globalization are major economic trends, Taiwan's SMEs should cluster together and promote innovation, Chen continued, promising that the government will continue to pour more resources into helping boost the global competitiveness of SMEs and developing the nation's economy.

Highlighting the creativeness, dynamicism and competitiveness of Taiwan's economy, the president added that "we cannot be complacent about this, but it doesn't hurt to give ourselves some applause and encouragement."

Noting that the strength of Taiwan's SMEs helped shield it to a large extent from the Asian financial crisis of 1997, the president said that in order to maintain Taiwan's international competitiveness, it must continue to work to promote the superiority of its small and medium-sized enterprises.

Addressing the same occasion, Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) said the second stage of national financial reforms will help SMEs.

Local banks cannot compete against their foreign counterparts because of their relatively small amounts of capital and size, Hsieh said.

The Cabinet's second phase of financial reforms encourages banks to merge and sharpen their competitiveness, which will strengthen their ability to serve SMEs.

The premier also disputed allegations that the ruling Democratic Progressive Party associates closely with business tycoons, saying no businessmen have ever served on the party's Central Standing Committee.

On the contrary, Hsieh said, many businessmen double as members of the Central Standing Committee of the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).