President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday announced plans to set up a sovereign wealth fund for foreign investment “to connect with the world.”
“The government will set up a sovereign wealth fund to build a national-level investment platform,” Lai said in his one-year anniversary speech at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
The fund would “take advantage of the strengths of Taiwanese businesses and be led by the government, while harnessing the power of the private sector to build a global presence and connect with major target markets in the AI [artificial intelligence] era,” he said, without elaborating.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
During a question-and-answer session following his speech, Lai was asked why his government thought it was the right time to set up a sovereign wealth fund and if it would focus on investing in the US.
Lai said the proposal was raised as part of the government’s strategy to deal with challenges in the global economy.
The government would propose legislation to create the fund, which would be used mainly for foreign investment, while at the same time help local businesses expand their international presence, he said.
Sovereign wealth funds are “government-owned investment funds, set up for a variety of macroeconomic purposes,” according to the IMF. “They are commonly funded by the transfer of foreign exchange assets that are invested long term, overseas.”
The proposal has been debated in the past few months, with the Ministry of Finance last month saying that more discussion was needed before a consensus could be reached.
In his speech, Lai also mentioned ongoing trade talks with Washington over US President Donald Trump’s threats to levy heavy duties on Taiwanese goods.
Taiwan has not issued details on its interaction with the Trump administration, and Lai’s speech was no different.
He said it was not uncommon for friends like Taiwan and the US to have some friction, but that ultimately the two sides would find common ground.
Aside from continuing to expand economic and trade cooperation with the US, Taiwan has also been expanding such relations with the UK by signing the Enhanced Trade Partnership, Lai said.
It is in talks with other countries to sign more bilateral trade deals and double-taxation avoidance agreements, and hopes to gain access to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said.
According to the Office of Trade Negotiations, Taipei and Washington concluded a first in-person meeting on tariffs on May 3, which followed an initial round of talks held via videoconference on April 11.
Trump on April 2 announced sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs, including a 32 percent import duty on goods from Taiwan. A week later, he announced a 90-day pause to allow for negotiations.
Lai also addressed concerns about the nation’s energy supply following the closure on Saturday of the last nuclear reactor and proposed subsidies for Taiwan Power Co (Taipower, 台電), which have remained stalled in the legislature.
“In our discussions across different industries, all sectors advocated against raising electricity prices and were in support of government subsidies for Taipower,” Lai said, urging lawmakers to pass the Cabinet’s special budget.
“As energy security is national security, ensuring a stable power supply, while developing more forms of green energy, is, whether now or in the future, one of the government’s most important tasks,” he said.
LONG FLIGHT: The jets would be flown by US pilots, with Taiwanese copilots in the two-seat F-16D variant to help familiarize them with the aircraft, the source said The US is expected to fly 10 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 70/72 jets to Taiwan over the coming months to fulfill a long-awaited order of 66 aircraft, a defense official said yesterday. Word that the first batch of the jets would be delivered soon was welcome news to Taiwan, which has become concerned about delays in the delivery of US arms amid rising military tensions with China. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official said the initial tranche of the nation’s F-16s are rolling off assembly lines in the US and would be flown under their own power to Taiwan by way
OBJECTS AT SEA: Satellites with synthetic-aperture radar could aid in the detection of small Chinese boats attempting to illegally enter Taiwan, the space agency head said Taiwan aims to send the nation’s first low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite into space in 2027, while the first Formosat-8 and Formosat-9 spacecraft are to be launched in October and 2028 respectively, the National Science and Technology Council said yesterday. The council laid out its space development plan in a report reviewed by members of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee. Six LEO satellites would be produced in the initial phase, with the first one, the B5G-1A, scheduled to be launched in 2027, the council said in the report. Regarding the second satellite, the B5G-1B, the government plans to work with private contractors
‘NARWHAL’: The indigenous submarine completed its harbor acceptance test recently and is now under heavy guard as it undergoes tests in open waters, a source said The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first indigenous defense submarine, yesterday began sea trials, sailing out of the Port of Kaohsiung, a military source said. Also known as the “Narwhal,” the vessel departed from CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard at about 8am, where it had been docked. More than 10 technicians and military personnel were on deck, with several others standing atop the sail. After recently completing its harbor acceptance test, the vessel has started a series of sea-based trials, including tests of its propulsion and navigational systems, while partially surfaced, the source said. The Hai Kun underwent tests in the port from
New Taipei City prosecutors yesterday indicted nine entertainers over their alleged connection to a fraud ring that produces falsified documents to help people evade military service, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and show host William Liao (廖威廉). Twenty-eight people were charged with contravening the Punishment for Violation of Military Service System Act (妨害兵役治罪條例) and Article 214 of the Criminal Code for “causing a public official to make a false entry in a public document.” Prosecutors alleged the fraud ring was ran by a man, Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), and his three assistants, and that they were paid to help people dodge compulsory
RSS