Japan drafted a record ¥88.55 trillion (US$1 trillion) budget for next fiscal year in a bid to revive Asia’s biggest economy, which is slipping deeper into recession, officials said.
The finance ministry late on Saturday proposed the general account budget for the fiscal year starting April, at an all-time high of ¥88.548 trillion, up 6.6 percent from the initial fiscal budget for this year.
The increase reflects an emergency economic package that Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso announced earlier this month in a fresh bid to stave off a prolonged recession in the world’s second-largest economy.
Despite the expanded spending, the country’s revenue “is likely to fall due to tough economic conditions, so the ratio and the amount of the government debt both will worsen,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
The ratio of government debt to revenue will increase to 37.6 percent in fiscal 2009 from 30.5 percent in fiscal 2008 to March, while the outstanding government debt will increase to ¥581.1 trillion from ¥563.2 trillion in fiscal 2008, it said.
The ministry’s draft will be thoroughly reviewed as Aso will determine priority areas such as steps for job security and emergency economic measures, local media reported.
Aso’s Cabinet is scheduled to adopt the final draft budget on Wednesday which then will be submitted to the parliament next month.
Earlier this month, Aso unveiled a giant US$255 billion stimulus package, vowing that Asia’s largest economy would be the first to beat a once-in-a-century financial tsunami.
Aso said that the new package would total ¥23 trillion, including measures to shore up corporate financing, loans for the growing number of workers losing temporary jobs and tax cuts for homeowners.
The package comes on top of a ¥26.9 trillion stimulus which Aso unveiled in October.
The government on Friday forecast zero growth for next fiscal year, Japan’s first zero growth forecast in real terms in seven years as its economy is battered by slowing demand overseas for its exports and a slump in domestic demand.
The Bank of Japan Friday cut its already super-low interest rates to 0.1 percent to support the economy financially.
The global economic crisis has plunged Japan into recession in the current year to next March, despite earlier government projections of growth.
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) is expected to share his views about the artificial intelligence (AI) industry’s prospects during his speech at the company’s 37th anniversary ceremony, as AI servers have become a new growth engine for the equipment manufacturing service provider. Lam’s speech is much anticipated, as Quanta has risen as one of the world’s major AI server suppliers. The company reported a 30 percent year-on-year growth in consolidated revenue to NT$1.41 trillion (US$43.35 billion) last year, thanks to fast-growing demand for servers, especially those with AI capabilities. The company told investors in November last year that
Intel Corp has named Tasha Chuang (莊蓓瑜) to lead Intel Taiwan in a bid to reinforce relations between the company and its Taiwanese partners. The appointment of Chuang as general manager for Intel Taiwan takes effect on Thursday, the firm said in a statement yesterday. Chuang is to lead her team in Taiwan to pursue product development and sales growth in an effort to reinforce the company’s ties with its partners and clients, Intel said. Chuang was previously in charge of managing Intel’s ties with leading Taiwanese PC brand Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), which included helping Asustek strengthen its global businesses, the company
Taiwanese suppliers to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC, 台積電) are expected to follow the contract chipmaker’s step to invest in the US, but their relocation may be seven to eight years away, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. When asked by opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) in the legislature about growing concerns that TSMC’s huge investments in the US will prompt its suppliers to follow suit, Kuo said based on the chipmaker’s current limited production volume, it is unlikely to lead its supply chain to go there for now. “Unless TSMC completes its planned six
Power supply and electronic components maker Delta Electronics Inc (台達電) yesterday said it plans to ship its new 1 megawatt charging systems for electric trucks and buses in the first half of next year at the earliest. The new charging piles, which deliver up to 1 megawatt of charging power, are designed for heavy-duty electric vehicles, and support a maximum current of 1,500 amperes and output of 1,250 volts, Delta said in a news release. “If everything goes smoothly, we could begin shipping those new charging systems as early as in the first half of next year,” a company official said. The new
RSS