Finance Minister Chang Sheng-ford says China’s lowering of interest rates has affected Taiwan’s exports. He was speaking Monday at the legislature.
The People’s Bank of China cut interest rates by 0.25 percent on Monday. It was the third such cut in six months.
Chang told legislators that the cuts are not a promising sign.
“China’s interest rate cut indicates that it has adopted a quantitative easing policy to stimulate its economy," said Chang. "On the one hand, it shows that the economy is not good, and that has affected our exports to China. On the other hand, it shows that China does not have a strong demand and that economic recovery has been fairly slow.”
Government statistics show that Taiwan’s overall exports in April dropped by 11.7% year-on-year. It was the third month in a row that saw a decrease in exports.
Chang said the decreasing demand for mineral and plastic products is partly due to falling oil prices. Another reason for export weakness is the slow economic recovery in Europe and Asia.