President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday said his government would ensure the stability of the local stock market with the National Stabilization Fund as a measure against the eurozone debt crisis.
Ma presided over the first meeting of a recently formed task force on the financial situation, meeting with central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan (彭淮南) and government officials at the Presidential Office to discuss responses to the global financial crisis.
In a post-meeting press -conference, the president said that the government’s launch of the fund yesterday stabilized the stock market and that the Executive Yuan would implement more measures to strengthen financial markets and take care of people affected by the slowing economy.
Photo: CNA
“Faced with the European debt crisis, we will continue to hold such meetings to seek short-term and long-term solutions to economic challenges. The Executive Yuan will implement the measures immediately upon each discussion,” he said.
The government has utilized the fund to buy equities to support the stock market since Wednesday, said Acting Premier Sean Chen , who also attended the meeting.
“In accordance with the purpose of the fund, we have placed orders of shares in the stock market [on Wednesday] morning. Though I can’t tell you what we bought, it’s wrong to say that the National Stabilization Fund did not enter the stock market,” Chen said.
Chen denied reports that the government planned to pull out from the stock market after one month, saying that it had not set a timeframe for its withdrawal.
The TAIEX on Wednesday rose 4.6 percent to close at 6,966.48, posting its biggest gain in more than two years and driving the benchmark index up the most in Asia.
Asked to comment on the stock market’s performance after the use of the fund, Chen said the result was “acceptable,” while declining to go into more detail.
“The economy and stock market remain sound. We believe the stock market will rebound gradually, and this indicates that the public is confident with the -government and the market,” he said.
Among the decisions reached at the meeting was to offer NT$100,000 loans to unemployed workers.
The government will also help people who have been laid off negotiate with banks to extend mortgage deadlines.
Vice President Vincent Siew (蕭萬長), Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德), Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) and Council for Economic Planning and Development Minister Christina Liu (劉憶如) also took part in the meeting.
Additional reporting by Shih Hsiu-chuan
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