The Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA) will be offering a special financial aid program to companies affected by Typhoon Morakat, it said in a statement released yesterday.
Local small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) can apply for loans that cover up to 80 percent of reported damage caused by the typhoon, with an upward limit of NT$30 million (US$914,000) from Taiwan Business Bank (台灣企銀), First Commercial Bank (第一銀行), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) and Union Bank of Taiwan (聯邦銀行) at an annual percentage rate (APY) of 2.125 percent, provided that they show proof of the damage that has been confirmed by local government.
Money from the Small and Medium Business Credit Guarantee Fund (中小企業信保基金) will be used to assist companies that do not have enough collateral for a loan, SMEA said. For those SMEs that experience cashflow problems, SMEA has asked them to contact related SMEA departments to facilitate a talks.
In related news, Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控) yesterday announced a donation of NT$100 million to typhoon-hit victims.
Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中信銀) followed suit, donating NT$20 million, half of which will be at the disposal of the Red Cross for relief work, while Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金) and Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金) decided to contribute NT$20 million and NT$15 million, respectively.
President Enterprises Group (統一企業), which provided 700 cases of instant noodles, 1,200 boxes of mineral water and 12,000 loaves of bread, also announced a donation of NT$10 million toward community relief yesterday, the Central News Agency reported.
The food conglomerate yesterday said that it hoped such efforts would inspire other corporations or individuals to volunteer in times of need. Kinmen Alcohol Corp (金門酒廠) also donated NT$10 million each to Taitung, Pintung and Kaohsiung counties to help citizens rebuild their neighborhoods.
Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would delay the collection of premiums from its typhoon-hit policyholders for two months, while accelerating claims made by the policyholders.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JOYCE HUANG
DAMAGE REPORT: Global central banks are assessing war-driven inflation risks as the law of unintended consequences careens around the world, spiking oil prices Central banks from Washington to London and from Jakarta to Taipei are about to make their first assessments of economic damage after more than two weeks of conflict between the US and Iran. Decisions this week encompassing every member of the G7 and eight of the world’s 10 most-traded currency jurisdictions are likely to confirm to investors that the specter of a new inflation shock is already worrying enough to prompt heightened caution. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to do exactly what everyone anticipated weeks ahead of its March 17-18 policy gathering: hold rates steady. The narrative surrounding that
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) share of the global foundry market rose to almost 70 percent last year amid booming demand for artificial intelligence (AI), market information advisory firm TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said on Thursday. The contract chipmaker posted US$122.54 billion in revenue, up 36.1 percent from a year earlier, accounting for 69.9 percent of the global market, TrendForce said. Its share was up from 64.4 percent in 2024, it said. TSMC’s closest rival, Samsung Electronics, was a distant second, posting US$12.63 billion in sales, down 3.9 percent from a year earlier, for a 7.2 percent share of the global market. In the
At a massive shipyard in North Vancouver, Canadian workers grind metal beams for a powerful new icebreaker crucial to cementing the country’s presence in the increasingly contested arctic. Icebreakers are specialized, expensive vessels able to navigate in the frozen far north. And “this is the crown jewel,” said Eddie Schehr, vice president of production at the Seaspan shipyard. For Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who heads to Norway next Friday to observe arctic defense drills involving troops from 14 NATO states, Canada’s extreme north has emerged as a strategic priority. “Canada is and forever will be an Arctic nation,” he said ahead of
Chinese entrepreneur Frank Gao used to spend long hours running his social media accounts but now outsources the chore to artificial intelligence (AI) agent tool OpenClaw, which is taking China by storm despite official warnings over cybersecurity. OpenClaw, created in November by an Austrian coder, differs from bots such as ChatGPT because it can execute real-life tasks such as sending e-mails, organizing files or even booking flight tickets. “Since January, I’ve spent hours on the lobster every day,” Gao said in an interview, referring to OpenClaw’s red crustacean mascot. “We’re family.” After downloading OpenClaw, users connect it to artificial intelligence models of their
RSS