Public investments have declined for five years in a row at an average rate of 5.6 percent annually, leading to the nation’s anemic growth in fixed investments, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a report.
Public investment usually accounts for 20 percent of the nation’s fixed investment, while private investment constitutes 80 percent, according to data released by the ministry on Monday.
After the international financial crisis, Taiwanese high-tech companies have since 2010 significantly expanded their capital expenditure as global orders flowed in, the report said.
LACKLUSTER
However, the nation’s fixed investments remained weak over the past five years.
From 2010 to last year, fixed investments grew a mere 0.9 percent annually on average.
During the same period, private investment grew by an average of 2.7 percent, while public investment fell by an average of 5.6 percent, the report showed.
Last year alone, fixed investments dipped 0.77 percent year-on-year from NT$3.48 trillion to NT$3.46 trillion.
Private investment rose 0.85 percent to NT$2.83 trillion from a year earlier, while its public counterpart shrank 5.2 percent to NT$624.1 billion.
Little investment in new public infrastructure projects, government deficits and the privatization of state-owned enterprises have contributed to the slump in public investment, the ministry said.
TECH GROWTH
On the other hand, private investment benefited from a growing information technology and electronics business, boosting investment in the manufacturing sector.
The manufacturing sector accounted for more than 40 percent of the nation’s fixed investments in 2014, which was higher than South Korea’s 33.9 percent and Japan’s 16.1 percent, the report showed.
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