Northern European countries are seeking to explore more opportunities for cooperation with Taiwan in the field of energy efficiency and sustainability, representatives of three Nordic countries said at a forum yesterday.
Taiwan is making important investments in renewable energy, Trade Council of Denmark, Taipei Director Bo Monsted said at the Nordic Sustainable Energy and Environment Forum at the Taipei International Convention Center.
“There could still be opportunities within areas such as energy efficiency, and that’s why I think there are also some interesting technologies in the seminar here for Taiwan,” Monsted said on the sidelines of the event.
The one-day forum, organized by the representative offices of Sweden, Denmark and Finland, aimed to share the three countries’ sustainable solutions with Taiwan to create more cooperation in the pursuit of carbon reduction.
“Every time I go somewhere, I hear people refer to Sustainable Development Goals and I see a lot of interest among stakeholders in Taiwan about sustainability, so that’s a very positive side of things,” Monsted said.
Finland Trade Center Director Jari Tapani Seilonen and Swedish Trade and Invest Council Representative Hakan Jevrell touted companies in their two countries that could provide energy-efficient solutions to about Taiwan’s energy sector and related industry players.
There are almost 200 Nordic companies with a presence in Taiwan, the event’s organizers said.
Several of these companies — such as Wartsila Oyj Abp, BMH Technology Oy and Valmet Oyj of Finland; Atlas Copco AB, Envac AB and ABB Ltd of Sweden; Grundfos of Denmark — shared their experiences in energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste management and circular economies.
Last year’s Country Sustainability Ranking by international asset manager Robeco lists Sweden, Denmark and Finland among the top four countries with robust sustainability in their environmental, social and governance profiles.
Taiwan created a national council for sustainable development and passed the Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Management Act (溫室氣體減量及管理法) in 2015 to spur industrial transformation.
Taiwan is making efforts to achieve harmony in energy production and environmental protection through innovative technology, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng (曾文生) said at the forum.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to