President Ma Ying-jeou met with Dr. John R. Wells, President of Switzerland's International Institute for Management Development (IMD), at the Presidential Office on the morning of October 13. The president, on behalf of the government of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome to Dr. Wells on his visit here.
The president remarked that the IMD is one of the foremost management institutes in the world, ranking second globally and first in Europe. In addition to the renowned quality of education it offers, the IMD each year releases the Global Competitiveness Report, which is closely monitored by countries worldwide. The IMD released a report in May of this year indicating that Taiwan's competitiveness ranking had dropped from 13th last year to 23rd this year. The report, the president said, drew much attention here. Among the various categories in the survey, government efficiency here dropped two notches, while economic performance and infrastructure each fell six slots. Meanwhile, business efficiency slid 12 places. The drop in these categories was the main reason for the fall in the country's overall ranking.
President Ma mentioned that the results of the survey may have been impacted considerably by the period when the survey was carried out, which was in February and March. This was a time after the global financial tsunami when Taiwan's economic performance was at its weakest. Six months later, the World Economic Forum in its survey on competitiveness placed Taiwan in 12th position, which was up from 17th last year. The president said the results of surveys might vary depending on the timing of the surveys. He said that Taiwan's economy began to grow again in the third quarter. In addition, the business cycle indicator compiled by the government's Council for Economic Planning and Development has for three months been in the blue-to-yellow range (i.e. some individual indicators were slightly downbeat, while others were somewhat stable or upbeat). This is an improvement from earlier months. This, the president said, indicates that everyone can be optimistic about the future state of the economy.
President Ma furthermore said that the IMD in May also issued a stress test report in which Taiwan placed 21st. The president said he hopes that during this visit, Dr. Wells will share with everyone his observations related to the IMD's survey of Taiwan in its competitiveness report. The president welcomed Dr. Wells to share his suggestions on economic development and said that they will serve as reference for future planning by the government and in the drafting of various policies.
Dr. Wells expressed his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him. He said that while Taiwan presently is facing financial and environmental challenges, he is confident the Taiwan government will adopt even more constructive methods to address both international and regional problems. Dr. Wells said crisis presents an opportunity. Taiwan will certainly be able to overcome a difficult environment and achieve an impressive performance, he said.