Nearly 4,200 Taiwanese factories were shut down in the 10 months to October from slowing domestic and overseas demand in the wake of the terror attacks on the US, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
"More businesses are likely to close their plants here if the economic condition worsens," said a ministry official, who estimated the number would top 6,000 by the end of this year, up from 5,000 last year.
The number of factory closures in the January-to-October period rose 6.8 percent year-on-year to 4,166, but the official feared the actual number was greater because many firms had not registered with the ministry.
Meanwhile, the number of newly registered plants in the 10-month period dropped 34.3 percent to 3,112 as more businesses scaled down investment in face of weaker demand, according to the ministry.
The situation was expected to worsen since domestic investment by local manufacturers was anticipated to shrink by a record 35.1 percent to NT$246.6 billion (US$7.15 billion) next year, according to a survey by the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS).
Taiwan has slipped into a technical recession as its GDP shrunk 4.21 percent in the three months to September, the biggest quarterly fall in 26 years, said the DGBAS.
GDP is now expected to shrink another 2.68 percent for the fourth quarter and contract 2.12 percent for the full year, it added.
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
FIVE-YEAR WINDOW? A defense institute CEO said a timeline for a potential Chinese invasion was based on expected ‘tough measures’ when Xi Jinping seeks a new term Most Taiwanese are willing to defend the nation against a Chinese attack, but the majority believe Beijing is unlikely to invade within the next five years, a poll showed yesterday. The poll carried out last month was commissioned by the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, a Taipei-based think tank, and released ahead of Double Ten National Day today, when President William Lai (賴清德) is to deliver a speech. China maintains a near-daily military presence around Taiwan and has held three rounds of war games in the past two years. CIA Director William Burns last year said that Chinese President Xi Jinping
MAKING PROGRESS: Officials and industry leaders who participated in a defense forum last month agreed that Taiwan has the capabilities to work with the US, the report said Taiwan’s high-tech defense industry is to enhance collaboration with the US to produce weapons needed for self-defense, the Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the Legislative Yuan. Deputy Minister of National Defense Hsu Yen-pu (徐衍璞) discussed building regional and global industry alliances with US partners at the US-Taiwan Defense Industry Conference in Philadelphia held from Sept. 22 to Tuesday last week, the ministry said in the declassified portion of the report. The visit contributed to maintaining bilateral ties, facilitated Taiwan’s efforts to acquire weapons and equipment, and strengthened the resilience of the two nation’s defense industries, it said. Taiwan-US ties
CONCERNS: Allowing the government, political parties or the military to own up to 10 percent of a large media firm is a risk Taiwan cannot afford to take, a lawyer said A Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator has proposed amendments to allow the government, political parties and the military to indirectly invest in broadcast media, prompting concerns of potential political interference. Under Article 1 of the Satellite Broadcasting Act (衛星廣播電視法), the government and political parties — as well as foundations established with their endowments, and those commissioned by them — cannot directly or indirectly invest in satellite broadcasting businesses. A similar regulation is in the Cable Radio and Television Act (有線廣播電視法). “The purpose of banning the government, political parties and the military from investing in the media is to prevent them from interfering
RSS