Taiwan News
Date: 2020/04/01
By:  Central News Agency

The government plans to provide NT$1.05 trillion (US$34.64 billion) in two phases of an economic relief package to provide emergency aid to businesses and individuals hit by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Wednesday.

The size of the package is expected to reach the NT$1.05 trillion figure after an estimated NT$150 billion is added to the package in the second phase, Tsai said in a speech on the government's response measures relating to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first phase, the government has allocated a NT$60 billion special budget to help fund industries affected by the pandemic and to provide an additional NT$40 billion sourced from government budgets and funds, such as the Employment Security Fund and the Tourism Development Fund, toward emergency relief and economic stimulus measures, according to Tsai.

Meanwhile, the first phase of the emergency relief package also includes nearly NT$350 billion in loans for businesses, she added.    [FULL  STORY]