Taiwan might face a decline in foreign trade with China if the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) ends this year, Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said yesterday.
The agreement, which was signed and put into effect in 2010 to reduce trade barriers across the Taiwan Strait, is expected to end this year, despite not having an exact termination date.
“We have not received notification [from China] that it wishes to terminate ECFA,” Shen told reporters prior to attending a meeting at the Legislative Yuan. “Even if we are notified, the agreement would only cease after six months.”
While acknowledging the potential effects on Taiwan’s economy, Shen said termination of the agreement would affect less than 5 percent of commercial exchanges with China.
“The essential thing is for our industries to upgrade and transform,” Shen said, adding that companies should expand their commercial horizons to prepare for any disruptions in the agreement.
Separately, when asked about previously announced e-commerce vouchers to boost the local economy, Shen said that the ministry has already outlined a few general ideas for issuing them.
On Wednesday, Shen revealed that the ministry plans to provide discounts of 20 to 25 percent on purchases made online with the vouchers.
“The point is not to have people making big purchases in one go, but to spend on a day-to-day basis,” Shen said, adding that the vouchers would mainly be valid for daily necessities.
In other news, the ministry yesterday approved applications from eight small and medium-sized enterprises to invest about NT$2 billion (US$66.1 million) in the nation through a government program.
Food products suppliers Fu Che Frozen Food Co Ltd (福記冷凍食品) and Feng Fang Food Co Ltd (芬芳烹材) plan to invest more than NT$400 million each to expand existing production in Taiwan.
Morrison Opto-Electronics Ltd (耀穎光電), which makes optical thin-film coatings and components, is to invest more than NT$300 million to expand production, the ministry said.
Medical equipment suppliers Sangtech Lab Inc (笙特科技) and Medimaging Integrated Solution Inc (晉弘科技) are to invest NT$200 million and NT$100 million respectively to introduce automated production to existing plants.
Sewing machine component supplier Donwei Machinery Industry Co Ltd (東緯機械), manufacturer Jien Wei Knitting Co Ltd (建瑋棉織) and jewelry maker Su-Ao International Corp (豐昌行國際) are to invest a combined NT$400 million.
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV yesterday said that it has reached an agreement to acquire a subsidiary brewery of Taiwan’s Sanyo Whisbih Group (三洋維士比集團). Heineken is to assume majority ownership and management rights of the Long Chuan Zuan Co (龍泉鑽興業) brewery in Pingtung County’s Neipu Township (內埔), the Dutch company said. It would become the first multinational brewing company to operate brewery in Taiwan once the acquisition is completed. The deal has been approved by the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ Investment Commission, but details of the financial transaction cannot be disclosed at this time, as terms of the settlement have not been completed,
Had Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck hopped on an electric scooter rather than a Vespa in the classic film Roman Holiday, their spin around the Eternal City might have ended in tears. The number of crashes and near-misses involving the two-wheelers has prompted Rome authorities to impose some order on a booming rental market that began two years ago. The havoc came to a head earlier this month when two US tourists attempted a night-time drive down the Spanish Steps, causing more than 25,000 euros (US$26,392) worth of damage to the 18th-century monument. Caught on security footage, the couple in their late 20s
LOOK WHO OWES: China’s exposure to Taiwanese banks was the second-largest, with Luxembourg third, followed by Hong Kong and Japan, the central bank said The US remained the largest debtor country to Taiwan’s banking sector for a 27th consecutive quarter in the first quarter of this year, with its exposure rising 8.3 percent from a quarter earlier on the back of an increase in US bonds, the central bank said on Friday. Data compiled by the central bank showed that outstanding international claims by Taiwanese banks on a direct risk basis to the US stood at US$125.38 billion as of the end of March. Department of Financial Inspection deputy head Pan Ya-hui (潘雅慧) said that the US Federal Reserve’s launch of a rate hike cycle in
GREEN CITY: The company is set to invest US$8 billion to make electric vehicles and batteries for a new city that would rely entirely on renewable energy sources Indonesia said that Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) is considering investing in the country’s new capital city, a move that would bolster the US$34 billion construction project. Hon Hai, which is known as Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團), is looking at setting up an electric bus system and an Internet of Things network at Nusantara, as Indonesia’s new capital is to be called, Indonesian Minister of Investment Bahlil Lahadalia said in a statement yesterday. Hon Hai chairman Young Liu (劉揚偉) met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Saturday to discuss the company’s plan to invest US$8 billion to build a manufacturing plant
RSS