Taiwan’s investments in countries included in the government’s New Southbound Policy (NSP) surged more than 90 percent in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period last year, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said on Saturday.
At a time when Taiwan has intensified its efforts to improve economic ties with countries included in the policy, investments made by Taiwanese investors to 80 projects in 18 countries reached about US$2.72 billion in the January-to-March period, up 92.1 percent from a year earlier, data from the office showed.
Singapore, Vietnam and Thailand were the recipients of most investment from Taiwan in the three-month period, the office said.
The NSP was launched by former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) government in 2016, targeting 18 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australasia to reduce economic dependence on China.
The 18 countries are the 10 ASEAN members — Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Australia and New Zealand.
In addition to investment, bilateral trade with the 18 countries in the first quarter hit US$42 billion, up 11.9 percent from a year earlier, the office said.
Exports to the 18 countries rose 28.6 percent to US$26.1 billion with imports from those countries down 7.7 percent to US$15.9 billion, the office said, adding that Taiwan recorded a US$10.2 billion trade surplus.
Bilateral trade of agricultural products with the NSP countries totaled US$1.5 billion, up 2.7 percent from a year earlier, while agricultural exports grew 11.7 percent from a year earlier to US$330 million, the office said.
Taiwanese investors won two bids for engineering projects launched in the first quarter in the NSP countries, which totaled NT$15 million (US$465,116).
Fifteen researchers, who are from the 18 countries or had studied there, came to Taiwan in the first quarter to conduct research, the office said.
In addition, 33,907 students from NSP countries arrived in Taiwan to pursue their studies, it said.
The Executive Yuan approved a plan to provide subsidies to overseas compatriot schools to hire 129 teachers, it added.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to