$1.9 bln Shipping Rescue Package in Taiwan
Taiwanese government said it will provide 60 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.9 billion) to support the country’s shipping industry, according to Reuters.
The package, announced late Tuesday, involves a credit line with preferential interest rates aimed mainly to help Evergreen Marine Corp. and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., two of the world’s biggest container operators, says WSJ.
The government wants to to prevent a collapse similar to Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. The Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai explicitly cited the failure of Hanjin Shipping and its knock-on effects for South Korean industry and citizens, according to the Taipei Times.
“The nation relies on shipping firms to transport goods that come in large quantities, which is key to the nation’s economic development,” Wang Kwo-tsai, deputy minister of transportation and communications, was quoted saying.
“We have submitted the plan to the Executive Yuan [central government] for final approval so that it can be quickly implemented to help shipping firms battle the worldwide slump in the industry,” he said.
“The global shipping industry is going through a tough time. These loans are part of the government’s efforts to help local shippers,” said Yeh Hsieh-lung, a deputy director general of Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).
Shippers with accumulated losses in the past four quarters will be qualified to apply for the loans, Yeh said.
