Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

President Ma Ying-jeou convened a press conference on the morning of August 6 to discuss the impact of global stock markets on the local stock market.

The president noted that the Taiwan stock market the previous day tumbled on the back of falls in global markets that were triggered by fears of issues associated with European debt and other matters. These topics have caused worries among quite a few people, the president said, adding that he immediately called Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) and asked that the Executive Yuan have a comprehensive understanding of the global financial events taking place and to institute appropriate measures here when necessary.

President Ma stated that Taiwan’s economy is trade-driven and therefore heavily influenced by global economic trends. Consequently, Taiwan stocks in principle are inevitably influenced by trends in global markets. As a result, we must have a clear understanding of future global economic trends, he added, stating that the government will not let down its guard and will make every effort to plan for any contingency in order to reduce the impact to the nation.

On another front, the president explained that Taiwan's economic fundamentals are quite sound. He cited statistics released by the Cabinet-level Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) at the end of July that indicated world economic growth this year, as predicted by a number of global institutions, should be about 3%. The DGBAS has predicted, however, that Taiwan's economic growth this year could reach 5.01%, which is considerably stronger than the global average. In light of this situation, the president said that the public, and particularly investors, should not become overly alarmed by the situation.

President Ma stated that the government closely monitors a wide variety of global issues and not just financial and economic events, and that it will respond as appropriate. He also said that the public wants the ruling and opposition parties to cooperate when the world is facing economic challenges to jointly deal with the events taking place. The president called on everyone to work together in addressing changing global economic circumstances so that we can make the best preparations.