The government is planning to provide NT$560 billion (US$17.57 billion) to help the nation’s shipping firms survive a global downturn in the marine transport industry, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday.
Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that it proposed the plan after conferring with officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the National Development Council and the Bankers Association of the Republic of China, as well as shipping industry representatives.
“The nation relies on shipping firms to transport goods that come in large quantities, which is key to the nation’s economic development,” Wang said. “We have submitted the plan to the Executive Yuan for final approval so that it can be quickly implemented to help shipping firms battle the worldwide slump in the industry.”
“The bankruptcy of [South Korean firm] Hanjin Shipping [Co Ltd] in August has caused many of its ships, as well as the goods they carried, to be detained by port authorities around the world,” he said. “We see how people had to figure out ways to salvage their goods stranded at sea... The incident shows us that the government has to provide support to the industry before the damage becomes uncontrollable.”
Wang said that the industry is expected to recover within two years.
He said that financial institutions can offer a credit line of up to NT$500 billion to boost the overall economy, while the National Development Council has offered NT$60 billion for mid to long-term loans, which is specifically to finance shipping firms facing stress.
Wang said that the government is taking extra steps to sustain shipping firms in the nadir of a cyclical industry.
The government plans to reduce pier access fees, while the Bankers Association has agreed to extend deadlines for shipping firms to pay back mortgages.
Wang said the challenges facing the shipping industry mean there is an urgent need for a comprehensive upgrade.
Shipping prices for packaged and unpackaged goods have hit all-time low this year, he said.
With the Panama Canal’s widening, Wang said that the market is gravitating toward larger vessels that can carry 10,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), which would make redundant ships that can only carry 5,000 to 6,000 TEUs.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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