《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Cabinet issues economic stimulus plan

ECONOMIC REVIVAL: New measures target industrial upgrading, expanding exports and promoting investments, National Development Council Minister Woody Duh said

By Chung Li-hua / Staff reporter, with CNA

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The Cabinet yesterday outlined a plan aimed at energizing the economy.

The measures include expanding public investment, possibly setting up a sovereign wealth fund and a proposal to provide NT$500 billion （US$15.84 billion） in loans to “non-small and medium-sized enterprises.”

The Cabinet made the announcement amid reports of a decline in the growth of the nation’s exports in the first half of this year.

Last month, exports fell 13.9 percent from a year earlier, marking the fifth consecutive month in which outboard shipments dropped year-on-year. In the first six months of this year, exports dropped 7.1 percent from a year earlier.

Following from Premier Mao Chi-kuo’s （毛治國） instructions on July 12 to draft measures to improve the nation’s export growth and related economic issues, the National Development Council yesterday presented its report to the premier.

National Development Council Minister Woody Duh （杜紫軍） said the plan to bolster the economy would focus on industrial upgrading, expanding exports and promoting investments.

The government is to continue its efforts to encourage domestic manufacturers to upgrade their technology and restructure their businesses to improve competitiveness, he added.

Mao yesterday said that while a fall in exports was mainly due to the short-term, weaker-than-expected performance of the global economy and a decline in international crude oil prices, some economists have also cited “non-economic” elements, such as the nation’s political environment.

In May, the government cut its forecast for GDP growth this year to 3.28 percent from 3.78 percent. The government is scheduled to update its forecast in the middle of next month.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES