MOEA chief says more must be done to lure investment

Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Hsin-yi (林信義) said yesterday that the government's plans to hold the economic growth rate above 5 percent this year would be a "tough task."

According to Lin, the gloomy 1.2 percent economic growth in the US has hit the domestic economy hard over the past six months. Lin made the comments during a joint meeting of the budget and economic committees at the Legislative Yuan.

The most urgent task now, he said, is to improve the local investment environment, including land, capital, talent and tax incentives, adding that this will require cooperation from local governments. Taiwan's tax incentives are not particularly "generous" or "competitive" compared to other countries, he noted.

He also said that since the five-day workweek went into effect, some 12 percent of manu-facturers have said that they would cut production, while some 21 percent have said that they will try to shift overseas, showing that the government needs to improve the investment environment.