An official with the National Development Council says that a recent global competitiveness report highlights the rising cost of living in Taiwan.
Head of the council’s Department of Economic Development, Wu Ming-hui, says that the report reveals the rising cost of living in Taiwan.
"This mainly reflects the rise in living costs," said Wu. "They feel that basic costs like our housing prices and transportation costs have gone up. The cost of renting an office has gone up. This has affected their overall evaluation of prices in Taiwan."
Taiwan placed 11th in the International Institute for Management and Development’s 2015 global competitiveness report. Taiwan moved up two places in the rankings from last year.
The National Development Council says that this reflects GDP growth, diversification of export markets and resistance to economic cycles.
But while Taiwan saw progress in three of the categories covered in the report, its score in “basic infrastructure” fell. The National Development Council says this reflects a need for better water and transport infrastructure in Taiwan.