The Ministry of Economic Affairs' (MOEA) and Council for Economic Planning and Development's (CEPD) plans to promote investment in Taiwan by overseas Taiwanese businesses, which were initiated November 1, 2012, are already bearing fruit, Premier Sean Chen said at today's Cabinet meeting.
As of January 25, 2013, the MOEA had approved the applications of 16 Taiwanese businesses, which would invest a projected NT$150 billion (US$5 billion) and create an estimated 210,000 new jobs, mostly in central and southern Taiwan.
The premier expects the plan to ameliorate the effect that overseas manufacturing has had on Taiwan's employment market. He also believes it will augment Taiwan's industrial strength by attracting competitive industries to return and establish a comprehensive industry supply chain here. He emphasized that this is a major initiative of the Economic Power-Up Plan and asked relevant agencies to continue strengthening its implementation.
The ROC's latest economic statistics were also discussed. According to the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics, Taiwan's year-on-year growth for the fourth quarter of 2012 was 3.42 percent; its annualized GDP growth was 1.25 percent; and its consumer price index rose 1.93 percent. "The year-on-year growth rate is very significant," Chen said. "It proves that the government's efforts are starting to pay off."