Premier Yu Shyi-kun encouraged local enterprises Saturday to invest in Central American countries that continue to maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, saying this will help the government maintain the ties.
Speaking at a breakfast meeting with reporters after concluding a visit to the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua, Yu said that because of these countries' close proximity to the North American market and the export preferences granted to them by the US, investing in Central America can be profitable.
Taiwan is hoping to sign more free trade agreements (FTA) with countries in the region, he said. Taiwan secured an FTA with Panama last year.
FTAs give businesses with preferential tax and tariff treatment on raw-material transport and semi-manufactured products.
On Yu's stopover in New York, he mentioned that he was eager to sign an FTA with the US.
Addressing a dinner party hosted by Taiwanese expatriates, Yu said that Taiwan hopes to sign FTA's with its trading partners. An FTA with the US is key, because many countries are taking the US as their guide when negotiating such agreements with Taiwan, he said.
Yu urged Taiwanese expatriates in the US to join efforts to make the US administration and Congress aware of Taiwan's position on FTAs.
The premier also called on the US to recognize Taiwan's importance and extend more support.
During the same event in New York, William Brown, chairman of the American Institute in Taiwan, praised Taiwan for its progress in a range of areas.
Brown said he shares Yu's views and promised to support Taiwan's efforts.
Yu arrived in New York earlier that day for a three-day transit stopover on his way back to Taiwan. He is scheduled to leave New York on Aug. 23.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS