Taiwan's long-term credit was given an "A+" rating by Fitch Inc, which said the nation's high foreign reserves and low debt shield it from a potential cash shortage even as growth stalls.
The rating agency, which began coverage of Taiwan's sovereign debt today, gave the nation its fifth-highest rating, putting it on par with Kuwait.
Fitch said the outlook for the rating is "stable" as US$116 billion in reserves and foreign debt worth just 9 percent of GDP minimize the risk of a default.
Still, Taiwan's economy fell into recession in the third quarter, shrinking 4.2 percent from a year earlier, as exports tumbled. That has "exposed domestic weaknesses that constrain the island's creditworthiness," Fitch said.
Stalled world growth and shrinking demand for computers have slashed orders for Taiwan-made chips and other goods, causing exports -- which make up about half the economy -- to fall 29 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. Domestic spending and investment aren't pulling their weight.
Non-performing loans could rise to as high as 15 percent of the total by the end of this year from about 11 percent at the end of September, Fitch said, making banks reluctant to lend and delaying an economic rebound.
Eleven interest-rate cuts since last December haven't been enough to get companies spending -- corporate investment tumbled 36.8 percent in the third quarter, the government said last week. In July, Standard & Poor's cut Taiwan's long-term credit rating one notch to "AA."
Fitch's "A+" rating on Taiwan's long-term foreign-currency debt is higher than the agency's ratings for South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
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‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)