Taiwan’s GDP growth this year might surpass last year’s 2.45 percent, despite a slowdown, after taking into consideration a plan to hand out NT$6,000 (US$196.23) to eligible people from last year’s tax surplus and other subsidies, Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) Minister Chu Tzer-ming (朱澤民) said yesterday.
Chu was responding to questions from lawmakers during a review of a NT$380 billion special budget to help boost the economy following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The statistics agency last month trimmed its forecast for GDP growth this year to 2.12 percent, from 2.75 percent, with a 1.2 percent contraction this quarter, Chu said, adding that the forecast did not factor in the special budget funded by last year’s tax surpluses.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
The upcoming distribution of NT$6,000 for all citizens and permanent residents would raise the GDP reading by at least 0.3 percentage points, while other stimulus programs would lend further support, Chu said.
The Ministry of the Interior is to provide a once-off NT$30,000 mortgage subsidy to low-income households to ease their financial burdens, which have been worsened by inflation and interest rate hikes, the minister said.
Other ministries have also proposed stimulus programs to energize private consumption, the main growth driver this year, as exports and private investment are taking a hit from a global economic slowdown.
Ultimately, this year’s economic growth might be better than last year’s, Chu said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Shen Fa-hui (沈發惠) asked whether inflation would climb further and erode economic benefits after the government raises electricity prices later this year.
Chu said that the statistics agency has not taken into consideration electricity price adjustments, which a panel at the Ministry of Economic Affairs would be tackling late this month.
Electricity rate hikes would surely affect the consumer price index and the DGBAS would revisit the issue in May after policymakers reach a conclusion, Chu said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) asked Minister of Finance Chuang Tsui-yun (莊翠雲) to shed light on the National Stabilization Fund’s reported exit from the local bourse now that the TAIEX has recovered some ground and the Financial Supervisory Commission has removed bans on short selling.
The TAIEX is hovering around 15,000 points, with a stable daily turnover of more than NT$200 billion, Chuang said, adding that she has confidence in the index’s performance.
The TAIEX yesterday rose 155.09 points, or 0.99 percent, to close at 15,763.51. The benchmark index has risen 11.5 percent since the beginning of this year, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
The National Stabilization Fund’s management committee is to hold a quarterly meeting next month, at which committee members would discuss the fund’s next moves, Chuang said.
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