Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong (蘇建榮) is to step down from his post on Monday to return to teaching at National Taipei University, Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said yesterday.
Su has tendered his resignation and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) has approved it, Lo said.
Su Jain-rong has been on leave from his post at the university, where he is a professor in the Department of Public Finance.
Photo: CNA
Deputy Minister of Finance Frank Juan (阮清華) is to take on Su Jain-rong’s duties as acting minister after his departure, Lo added.
During yesterday’s weekly Cabinet meeting, the last one with Su Jain-rong in attendance, Su Tseng-chang praised the outgoing minister for stabilizing the nation’s finances amid a US-China trade dispute, the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s military threats and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The premier said that Su Jain-rong had ensured budget flexibility and sustainability, freed up funds from existing budgetary items, and reduced national debt.
He established a reasonable tax system, cut government expenditure, took measures to deter speculation, introduced tax breaks on remittances from overseas and simplified tax filing procedures, the premier said.
On Su Jain-rong’s watch, the government recorded annual surpluses of more than NT$100 billion (US$3.26 billion) for four consecutive years, and international credit-rating agencies last year raised Taiwan’s credit rating, which are remarkable achievements, he added.
Su Tseng-chang thanked Su Jain-rong for his contributions to the nation and expressed the hope that he would apply his practical experience to foster financial talent among his students.
Separately, Juan said in an interview that he would do his best to stabilize the nation’s finances during a time of economic volatility.
Taiwan’s economy faces challenges such as the US Federal Reserve further raising interest rates, a global economic downturn and sluggish sales, he said.
These challenges have hampered the efficacy of the National Stabilization Fund (NSF), which was activated in July to boost investor confidence, he added.
As the Taiwan Stock Exchange continues to face uncertainties, the fund would continue to support the local equity market next year, said Juan, who is also the executive secretary for the NSF Management Committee.
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,
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