Minister Without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) yesterday said that the nation’s industries are expected to benefit from “four trillions” in the buildup to 2025, which should spur economic growth.
Kung said the US-China trade dispute is not likely to end soon, but presents Taiwan with challenges and opportunities.
The first trillion would be comprised of investment by local firms returning from China amid the trade dispute, which is currently at NT$430 billion (US$13.79 billion) and is expected to reach NT$600 billion to NT$700 billion later this year and surpass the NT$1 trillion mark in 2021 or 2022, he said.
The second trillion would comprise the fund the government is set to budget for the second phase of the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program in the coming fiscal year, which totals about NT$400 billion, coupled with an estimated increase in remittances on the back of the passage of the Act on the Use and Taxation on the Inward Remittance of Overseas Funds (境外資金匯回管理運用及課稅條例), he said.
The act is valid for two years and analysts have said that if things go well, it would be able to attract between NT$900 billion and NT$1 trillion of funds held overseas, and between NT$100 billion and NT$200 billion in the worst-case scenario, he said.
The estimate is derived using a conservative estimate of NT$500 billion in remittances, which in conjunction with the fund for the infrastructure program should reach NT$1 trillion, he added.
The third trillion would be contributed by investment in offshore wind farms, which is expected to reach NT$1 trillion, in addition to the creation of about 20,000 new jobs, Kung said.
The fourth trillion would be jointly provided by the semiconductor manufacturing industry and Internet of Things applications, he said.
The four trillions would provide the economy with a solid foundation for the next 20 years, and provide the opportunities and momentum needed to sustain growth amid the challenges posed by the trade dispute, he added.
An alleged US government plan to encourage Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) to form a joint venture with Intel to boost US chipmaking would place the Taiwanese foundry giant in a more disadvantageous position than proposed tariffs on imported chips, a semiconductor expert said yesterday. If TSMC forms a joint venture with its US rival, it faces the risk of technology outflow, said Liu Pei-chen (劉佩真), a researcher at the Taiwan Industry Economics Database of the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research. A report by international financial services firm Baird said that Asia semiconductor supply chain talks suggest that the US government would
Starlux Airlines on Tuesday announced it is to launch new direct flights from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Ontario, California, on June 2. The carrier said it plans to deploy the new-generation Airbus A350 on the Taipei-Ontario route. The Airbus A350 features a total of 306 seats, including four in first class, 26 in business class, 36 in premium economy and 240 in economy. According to Starlux’s initial schedule, four flights would run between Taoyuan and Ontario per week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Flights are to depart from Taoyuan at 8:05pm and arrive in California at 5:05pm (local time), while return flights
Nearly 800 Indian tourists are to arrive this week on an incentive tour organized by Indian company Asian Painted Ltd, making it the largest tour group from the South Asian nation to visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. The travelers are scheduled to arrive in six batches from Sunday to Feb. 25 for five-day tours, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. The tour would take the travelers, most of whom are visiting Taiwan for the first time, to several tourist sites in Taipei and Yilan County, including tea houses in Taipei’s Maokong (貓空), Dadaocheng (大稻埕) and Ximending (西門町) areas. They would also visit
HOSPITAL VISITS: Shin Kong Mitsukoshi pledged to give the families of the four people who died NT$11m each and provide support for staff working at the time The central government would assist local governments to enhance public safety, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday as he visited people in hospital who were injured in an explosion at a department store in Taichung on Thursday. A suspected gas explosion occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 36. Of the 40 casualties, 39 were hospitalized, Ministry of Health and Welfare data showed. Three died after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, the data showed. As of 6am yesterday, 25 of those injured had been discharged from hospital, leaving 11