Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/12/17
By: Tasi Yi-chu, Chiu Po-seng, Yang Shu-min and Frances Huang

Taipei, Dec. 17 (CNA) The latest interest rate cut by the local central bank is necessary and reasonable at a time when the local economy has showed signs of slowing down, Chairman Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗)of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Thursday.

Bucking a rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve overnight, the local central bank announced Thursday that it has decided to lower its key interest rates by 0.125 percentage points, effective Friday.

Tseng said that the interest rate cut by the local central bank is needed and not unfounded at all as the local economy needs stimulus measures to leave the current stagnation behind.

In November, the government trimmed its forecast of the country’s gross domestic product growth for 2015 to 1.06 percent from an earlier estimate of a 1.56 percent rise.     [FULL  STORY]