With premier-designate Su Tseng-chang's (
Joseph Lyu (
"Neither of them are heavyweights but both are entrusted with heavyweight tasks," said Thomas Lee (
Their ability to rapidly deal with public affairs and carry out national economic policies will determine how well they stand up to public scrutiny, he added.
Known as a seasoned banker, Lyu's appointment to the finance ministry was viewed by many as odd, since the ministry's main function now is to pursue more fair taxation, while dealing with stake-holdings in state-run financial institutions is a secondary task, Lee said.
But if the legislature passes revisions to the Organic Law of the Executive Yuan (
However, this could also mean that the ministry's efforts to push through tax reform could fail, despite its initial success in passing the alternative minimum tax late last year.
Lin yesterday threw his full support behind his successor, Lyu, saying that Lyu's rich experience and strong capabilities will help him weather difficulties.
For his part, Huang will face stiff challenges after taking the helm of the economic affairs ministry, Lee said.
Huang is a former dean of National Taipei University's business school and was an executive at several private companies for more than 20 years.
His experience in chairing the Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (
Huang's first challenge will be how to deal with the possible hikes in utility fees after the Lunar New Year, which always triggers dissatisfaction and will give the public a chance to examine his political wisdom, the professor noted.
Meanwhile, foreign business groups also said that they hope the new ministers make their plans for the next two years as soon as possible in order to achieve better policy transparency and stability.
"We expect them to get down to the business quickly, as time is running out," Guy Wittich, chief executive officer of European Chamber of Commerce Taipei (ECCT), said in a phone interview yesterday. He cited worries about Taiwan's weakening competitiveness compared with other countries in the region such as South Korea, and slowing economic growth.
With frequent political shakeups, foreign businesspeople expect the government to deliver consistent policy in order to help their business activities here, American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (AmCham) Executive Director Richard Vuylsteke said.
Further normalization of cross-strait relations, including facilitating the free flow of personnel across the Taiwan Strait and lifting import bans on products or components manufactured in China, remain top priorities for both foreign business chambers, both chamber heads said.
Improving market access through measures such as scrapping technical trade barriers is also an area in which the foreign business community wants the new government to make substantial progress, Wittich said.
Vuylsteke agreed, and acknowledged the authorities' efforts to implement financial reforms.
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
Global semiconductor stocks advanced yesterday, as comments by Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) at Davos, Switzerland, helped reinforce investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI). Samsung Electronics Co gained as much as 5 percent to an all-time high, helping drive South Korea’s benchmark KOSPI above 5,000 for the first time. That came after the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose more than 3 percent to a fresh record on Wednesday, with a boost from Nvidia. The gains came amid broad risk-on trade after US President Donald Trump withdrew his threat of tariffs on some European nations over backing for Greenland. Huang further
CULPRITS: Factors that affected the slip included falling global crude oil prices, wait-and-see consumer attitudes due to US tariffs and a different Lunar New Year holiday schedule Taiwan’s retail sales ended a nine-year growth streak last year, slipping 0.2 percent from a year earlier as uncertainty over US tariff policies affected demand for durable goods, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed. Last year’s retail sales totaled NT$4.84 trillion (US$153.27 billion), down about NT$9.5 billion, or 0.2 percent, from 2024. Despite the decline, the figure was still the second-highest annual sales total on record. Ministry statistics department deputy head Chen Yu-fang (陳玉芳) said sales of cars, motorcycles and related products, which accounted for 17.4 percent of total retail rales last year, fell NT$68.1 billion, or
HSBC Bank Taiwan Ltd (匯豐台灣商銀) and the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to enhance cooperation on the suspicious transaction analysis mechanism. This landmark agreement makes HSBC the first foreign bank in Taiwan to establish such a partnership with the High Prosecutors Office, underscoring its commitment to active anti-fraud initiatives, financial inclusion, and the “Treating Customers Fairly” principle. Through this deep public-private collaboration, both parties aim to co-create a secure financial ecosystem via early warning detection and precise fraud prevention technologies. At the signing ceremony, HSBC Taiwan CEO and head of banking Adam Chen (陳志堅)
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