The incoming administration is moving to establish a new quasi-sovereign wealth fund with local and overseas cash to finance emerging industries, a top adviser to president-elect Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said yesterday.
According to a plan she is considering, the government would be the largest shareholder in the fund, with ownership at less than 50 percent, while the rest would be comprised of local and foreign investors, said Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫), Tsai’s top adviser on industry policy.
The fund would help nurture the development of key industries such as biotechnology and smart machinery, Kung said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“There is a lot of money in Taiwan, but people are just collecting fixed-interest payments,” said Kung, who is also vice president of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (台灣經濟研究院).
“An innovative financing mechanism can make full use of the local excess savings,” he said.
Tsai, who is to take office on May 20 after winning in a landslide in January’s election, campaigned on fostering new industries as economic growth slumps from a global trade slowdown.
The nation is facing increasing pressure to find new engines for growth as Chinese firms become more competitive and demand weakens in the electronics sector, its key export.
The new leadership hopes to keep central government deficit at less than 3 percent of GDP, so it needs to find more innovative ways to fund new industries beyond selling debt, Kung said.
The proposed fund’s investments would focus on five areas highlighted by Tsai’s campaign: “green” energy, biotechnology, national defense, Internet of Things and smart machinery.
While the fund might also acquire fledgling businesses, unlike Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek Holdings Pte, it would not buy large companies.
Kung declined to comment on the size of the fund.
The new company might hire foreign managers, Kung added.
The Cabinet-level National Development Council said in July last year that it would consider forming a sovereign wealth fund, but added that it does not have to include foreign-exchange reserves.
Council Deputy Minister Huan Lin (林桓) this week said exploratory research conducted by the current administration would be passed to Tsai’s government if need be.
The nation’s economy grew 0.75 percent last year, the least since 2009, as exports shrank over the past 12 months.
Local technology firms have declined as demand for PC hardware fell, while those in other nations moved into Internet services.
The five worst performers in Morgan Stanley’s 106-member Asia-Pacific Infotech Index last year came from Taiwan.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
RSS