Funds managed by the Ministry of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Funds earned NT$20.9 billion (US$641.14 million) in October, bringing this year’s gains to NT$93.91 billion as of the end of October, a report by the bureau showed yesterday.
The funds were valued at NT$6.8814 trillion and saw a 14.96 percent return rate for the first 10 months of the year, the bureau said in its latest fund performance report.
The funds include the Labor Pension Fund, valued at NT$4.5106 trillion with a 14.59 return rate, the Labor Retirement Fund (NT$1.047 trillion, 17.92 percent), the Labor Insurance Fund (NT$1.096 trillion, 16.64 percent) and the Employment Insurance Fund (NT$172.4 billion, 3.42 percent).
Photo: Lee Chin-hui, Taipei Time
The funds also comprise the Labor Occupational Accident Insurance Fund (NT$36.5 billion, 1.40 percent) and the Arrear Wage Payment Fund (NT$19.4 billion, 11.64 percent).
The bureau also reviewed the performance of the financial markets, saying that US retail sales were solid in September, as were non-farm payroll reports and the non-manufacturing index.
However, Taiwan’s financial market performance in October was relatively weak, apart from the relatively solid stock market, it said.
The Ministry of Labor said that varied interest rate policies, uneven growth, the development of artificial intelligence-related industries, the new US government’s fiscal policy and geopolitical conflicts could lead to uncertainty in the global financial market.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
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