People Not Confident About Economy in Taiwan: Report

Local residents have not resumed their confidence in Taiwan's economy, judging from the poor performance of its stock market in recent months, a Taipei- based newspaper reported Saturday.

Taiwan's political risk rating has also declined year by year, the English newspaper Taiwan News cited an evaluation report by the Swiss-based Business Environment Risk Intelligence as saying.

The report gave Taiwan a political risk mark of 59, a sizable decrease from 1994, when the Island was rated at 70, and the decrease of political risk has affected Taiwan's total investment environment standing, the newspaper said.

A further decrease in Taiwan's political risk was predicted next year down to 58, the newspaper said.

A separate poll revealed by the local authorities also showed that Taiwan's international standing has also gradually declining over time, the newspaper said.

According to the poll, conducted among well-educated and well- traveled citizens from around the island, only 13.8 percent of the respondents said they believed Taiwan's international standing had risen, 39.1 percent saw no changes, while 41.5 percent felt there had been a decline throughout the years.

The impression of Taiwan's global standing came about mainly due to the recent changes in the island's financial and social situation. The rapid development of China's mainland in recent years also played a role in reinforcing this impression, the newspaper added.






People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/