Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) yesterday expressed confidence in Taiwan's economic development, saying that corruption charges against first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) should have little impact in the foreseeable future.
Chen was speaking after a lunch with leaders of the nation's seven major business groups, including Lee Cheng-chia (
"The attendees all have strong faith in Taiwan's economy. But the extra-parliamentary resistance[against President Chen Shui-bian (
Like exports, domestic consumption is a critical factor in driving economic growth, he said.
Citing statistics offered by Hsu during the luncheon, he said the nation's electronics sector has posted an impressive growth rate of 21 percent, higher than the 19-percent growth rate registered in export orders during the first nine months.
"We don't think the recent string of political incidents will have a negative impact on the economy," Chen said.
He also reiterated the government's resolve to continue to promote policies mapped out to stimulate economic development.
In particular, the Cabinet's "Big Warmth, Big Investment" project unveiled in September would be implemented to create a beneficial investment environment, he said.
The plan, with a budget of NT$191.4 billion (US$5.8 billion) over three years, aims to reduce the poverty gap, provide better care for the elderly, tackle the country's declining population figures and invest in national health projects.
The minister also asked the industrial and business heavyweights to help push forward Taiwan's negotiations with the US on signing a free trade agreement (FTA).
"I suggested that corporate chiefs and association members shore up support from US business circles, who can help lobby the US government to facilitate smooth talks with Taiwan," he said.
With bilateral trade reaching US$35.65 billion for the first eight months of the year, the US is Taiwan's third largest trade partner after China and Japan.
Taiwan completed bilateral talks and signed an FTA with Nicaragua in June, which is expected to take effect next year. Nicaragua is the third country to ink an FTA with Taiwan following Panama and Guatemala.
The ministry has endeavored to initiate FTA talks with major economies around the world, including the US, Japan and the ASEAN, as well as with countries maintaining formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
FTA talks have also gotten underway with El Salvador and Honduras, and the bilateral talks are expected to conclude by the end of this year, paving the way for Taiwan to sign FTAs with the Central American countries, the minister said last month.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
Thousands of parents in Singapore are furious after a Cordlife Group Ltd (康盛人生集團), a major operator of cord blood banks in Asia, irreparably damaged their children’s samples through improper handling, with some now pursuing legal action. The ongoing case, one of the worst to hit the largely untested industry, has renewed concerns over companies marketing themselves to anxious parents with mostly unproven assurances. This has implications across the region, given Cordlife’s operations in Hong Kong, Macau, Indonesia, the Philippines and India. The parents paid for years to have their infants’ cord blood stored, with the understanding that the stem cells they contained