Industrial heavyweights yesterday called on the government to take bolder steps to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Taiwan’s economy, saying that the nation’s relief and stimulus program is modest compared with those of other nations.
The Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI, 全國工業總會), the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會), the Third Wednesday Club (三三會) and the General Chamber of Commerce (全國商業總會) issued a joint statement after three days of meetings with top-ranking economic officials.
The nation’s relief and stimulus measures total NT$1.05 trillion (US$34.88 billion), or 5.4 percent of GDP, far less than measures adopted by the US, Europe and Japan, which constitute more than 10 percent of their economies, the groups said.
“We are grateful for the relief fund, but there is room for the government to expand its scale to make it more aggressive and successful,” CNAIC chairman Lin Por-fong (林伯豐) said.
Tax cuts are more effective than loans in helping companies maintain normal operations and upgrade, Lin said.
CNFI chairman William Wong (王文淵) said that the government must not add tax burdens for companies in such difficult times, and should quit mulling air pollution and carbon taxes.
Small and open, Taiwan should not seek to copy large economies in drawing its legal, financial, industrial, labor and environmental protection policies, Wang said.
Taiwan should be more pragmatic and learn from other small nations, such as Switzerland, Belgium, Denmark and Singapore, about being business-friendly, Wang said.
The groups urged the government to use the proceeds of a 5G spectrum auction to fund the development of 5G, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.
The groups also suggested that the government take an inventory and stockpile critical materials for the nation’s strategic industries in case rising protectionism worldwide causes disruptions to supply chains and endangers the nation’s economic health.
They advised President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to tap Cabinet ministers with economic and financial prowess to help the nation pursue economic growth.
Tsai is to start her second four-year term on May 20 and many have speculated that there will be a Cabinet reshuffle.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
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