TAIWAN MINISTER SEES LOWER YEN AS ”MIXED BLESSING”

TAIPEI - Taiwan's top economic planner is confident the economy can grow by 3% this year, achieving the Government’s target. Kuan Chung-ming, Minister of the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD), described continued depreciation of the Japanese yen as a "mixed blessing". He noted that a lot of raw materials and semi-finished products come from Japan, so the yen's depreciation could be favourable to Taiwan. He also said he did not think continued depreciation of the Japanese yen will trigger a race of depreciation of Asian currencies (ATI).