A total of NT$6.3 billion (US$187 million) in consumer vouchers was cashed before the Lunar New Year holiday, a figure that is expected to have risen sharply by the end of the holiday, Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) chairwoman Susan Chang (張秀蓮) said yesterday.
Chang said shop owners had cashed about NT$6.3 billion in consumer vouchers five days after they were launched on Jan. 18 to galvanize private consumption amid the economic downturn.
“The amount accounted for 7.5 percent of the entire volume,” Chang said on the sidelines of a public function at the Ministry of Finance.
Chang said the state-run bank did not keep a tab on the vouchers over the holiday, but voiced confidence they had been heavily used during the period, when consumer activity usually hits peak levels.
The government printed NT$85.7 billion in consumer vouchers and gave citizens NT$3,600 each in the hope of raising GDP by 0.64 percentage points this year.
Latest statistics by the bank showed that NT$257 million in vouchers was cashed in yesterday.
Some have suggested the government should repeat the program later this year, adding that the global financial crisis was hurting the nation’s economy more seriously than expected.
Chang said the economy would likely improve in the second half if the stimulus measures managed to achieve their intended effect and the US and Europe were able to resolve turmoil in the equity markets.
She said bad loans would escalate if the economic downshift dragged on, but added that so far Taiwan had not experienced a credit crunch.
“The Bank of Taiwan will heed the government’s call and adopt a flexible policy on corporate loans,” Chang said.
Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) said he was confident the economy would improve as assorted spending plans would offset falling exports and bolster GDP.
Asked if the government would issue more consumer vouchers this year, Lee said: “The government will consider doing anything that can help reinvigorate the economy.”
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