The Finance Minister, Dr. Su Jain-Rong attended the 2020 APEC Virtual Finance Ministers’ Meeting (VFMM) hosted by Malaysia on September 25, 2020, and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) Dialogue 2020 on the same day. The delegates led by Minister Su included senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Financial Supervisory Commission, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Minister Su highlighted Taiwan’s fiscal soundness and resilience by sharing the experience on the accumulation of fiscal capacity in recent years to cope with the relevant fiscal expenditures brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Finance stated that the themes of the 2020 APEC VFMM were fiscal and monetary measures for mitigation and recovery in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the role of digitalization and its development. Minister Su shared his views in the meeting and underlined that due to effective containment measures without the implementation of curfew or lockdown, the GDP of Taiwan is forecasted to grow 1.56% in 2020. In addition, the ratio of outstanding debt with a maturity of one year or more to the nominal GDP has decreased in recent years. This improvement is helping to accumulate fiscal buffers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that the government proposed a special budget for a relief and stimulus package as well as adopted an expansionary fiscal policy, this ratio is projected to grow to 30% and 30.6%, respectively, in 2020 and 2021, still well under control, and made Taiwan one of only a few APEC economies maintaining a ratio under 35%. This demonstrated that Taiwan possess the fiscal resilience for economic recovery.
At the ABAC Dialogue 2020, the Ministers discussed with the ABAC representatives the assistance for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) for a quick recovery, the promotion of financial inclusion via digitalization, as well as the emphasis on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, with the hope of cooperating in strengthening capacity building in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic so as to reach the goal of sustainable development.
The Ministry of Finance stressed that the APEC Virtual Finance Ministerial Statement on Mitigation and Recovery of COVID-19 Pandemic was endorsed by the Ministers of APEC economies. In response to the severe impact brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, economies have had to balance both the health and economic implications. The fiscal and financial authorities have delivered unprecedented fiscal and monetary measures to ease the financial pressure on individuals and businesses, especially the most exposed sectors and workers such as MSMEs. Meanwhile, economies are underscoring the importance of improving fiscal sustainability and transparency as well as the need for exchanging experiences and good practices, so as to move towards a strong, balanced, and inclusive recovery. This Statement will be submitted to the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting to be held at the end of this year to demonstrate Finance Ministers’ contributions.
Contact person: Ms. Yu- Hsuan Wang, Section Chief.
Contact Number: (02)2322-8183