The nation's economy remains strong, and the Taiwanese people should be confident about their country, Premier Frank Hsieh (
"The figures say it all. All the statistics indicate growth in Taiwan's business activities, and foreign investments have shown no signs of flagging either," Hsieh said in his opening speech at the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday morning.
He said that although a deluge of negative reporting has seriously damaged Taiwan's image in the run-up to the Dec. 3 local elections, foreign investments have not been interrupted.
"Foreign investors don't watch Taiwan's TV talk shows or read our newspapers, since they don't understand [the language]," he said.
"As a result, the negative media coverage of Taiwanese politics did not make them change their mind [about investing in Taiwan,] which is a good thing. Nonetheless, they actually made the right decision," Hsieh said.
He added that since people abroad generally pay no attention to local newspaper coverage or TV talk shows, they have a better perspective on what's really happening in the country.
According to Hsieh, the unemployment rate for last month dropped to a five-year low of 4.07 percent, while 29.89 percent of the nation's stocks, valued at NT$4.3 trillion (US$1288.4 billion), are owned by foreign investors.
"This is a sign that foreign investors are still confident about the economy," Hsieh said.
In addition, the number of foreign visitors has shown no signs of declining, and the premier said he believed even more foreign tourists will visit in the future.
"We just welcomed the millionth Japanese tourist [this year] a few days ago. I believe that was only the beginning," he said.
DEJA VU: Echoing the probe into real-estate giant Evergrande Group, the bank is under Beijing police scrutiny after last week, telling investors it is ‘severely insolvent’ Chinese authorities said they recently opened criminal investigations into Zhongzhi Enterprise Group Co’s (中植企業) money management business, days after the embattled shadow banking giant revealed a shortfall of US$36.4 billion in its balance sheet. Police in Beijing said in a statement on WeChat that they took “criminal mandatory measures” against multiple suspects, identifying one by their last name, Xie (解). They urged investors to report cases or provide leads to the authorities, including filing complaints online. Xie Zhikun (解直錕), the group’s founder, died in 2021, but several of his relatives are executives at the company. The statement did not elaborate on what
CONSIDERATIONS: The NSTC instructed the park to assist laid-off workers and urge companies to use furlough programs to ease the effects of falling demand Firms in the Hsinchu Science Park (新竹科學園區), which houses major tech companies, reported laying off 496 employees last month amid weakened global demand, Hsinchu Science Park Bureau director-general Wayne Wang (王永壯) said yesterday. Wang told a news conference that 48 companies in the science park laid off employees last month, including one hard disk supplier which let go 241 employees as part of a plant closure due to falling demand. Other companies reported sporadic layoffs as they adjusted to weakening demand, he said. Wang made the remarks after local media reported the layoffs over the weekend. Although the global economy is struggling with high
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck have promised to solve investment subsidy issues for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and Intel Corp, despite the country’s budget woes. Uncertainty over the funding to TSMC and Intel has arisen after a ruling by the German Federal Constitutional Court, which cast doubt over subsidies for construction of local semiconductor chip plants. On Nov. 15, the court ruled that the German government’s decision last year to reallocate 60 billion euros (US$65.74 billion) of unused funding from COVID-19 pandemic support measures to its Climate and Transformation Fund
NEW TREAD: The Taiwanese shoe brand paired with TSMC to turn silicon waste into a circular economy good, following its success making shoes from coffee grounds Ccilu International Inc (馳綠國際), a Taiwan-based footwear brand, has become the first company in the world to turn silicon waste from contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) into eco-friendly shoes. Last year, the global footwear industry saw the first pair of pressure-relief slippers made from recycled silicon waste by Ccilu. The brand continued to unveil follow-up collections, including sports shoes and massage slippers made from the same materials. In an interview with CNA, Ccilu CEO Wilson Hsu (許佳鳴) recalled the company’s innovation of the first pair of slippers made from silicon waste after its silicon waste treatment partner, Semisils Applied Materials
RSS