With the national annuity program is scheduled to go into effect next year, President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) said yesterday that the government will invest the fund in the stock market to produce more capital.
Chen said the government will implement a proposal he made in 2000 to use the labor pension fund and national annuity fund more flexibly and distribute the profits earned to all investors.
"In other words, all payees of the national annuity program are the investors, the shareholders and the common beneficiary of Taiwan's economic development," Chen said as he met winners of the ninth Security and Futures Awards at the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon.
The Supervisory Commission of the Labor Retirement Fund is set to tap into the investment market by the end of the year and the futures trust fund is scheduled to be in operation by the fourth quarter.
The president said that these programs were expected to provide dynamic energy to the stock market.
Chen said the TAIEX has performed impressively this year, with the bourse on average staying around the 9,000 mark -- which is about where it was when he was first elected seven years ago.
Turnover on the bourse has increased by 80 percent over the past seven years, from NT$1.2 trillion (US$36.3 billion) in May 2000 to NT$2.2 trillion this year, he said, while the number of companies trading on the stock market has grown from 470 to 678.
Among them, electronic companies have grown almost threefold from 106 to 303, he said.
Foreign investment has risen seven fold from 3.4 percent in 2000 to 22.8 percent this year, proving the international market has attached great importance to Taiwan's stock market, Chen said.
The financial services sector is a knowledge-intensive industry, Chen said, and talent is the most important asset in the financial industry.
The Security and Futures Award honors model operators of securities, futures and investment trusts as a way of promoting the development of the market. Since the inauguration of the award in 1996, 127 of the roughly 60,000 professionals in the sector have been honored with the award.
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
RSS