JAN. 2–TAIWAN–Government officials are looking for a boost to the nation’s economic strength from increased private investment as it projects private investment will jump by around 20 percent this year.

“Taiwan’s private investment is expected to increase to about $25 billion this year, buoyed by a strong economic recovery at home and abroad,” Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-fu said at a recent press conference.

Consumer and business confidence was shaken by the outbreak of SARS and the uncertainty surrounding the war in Iraq during the first half of last year.

A slump in private investment and consumption last year hampered the nation’s economy, as measured by GDP growth, said Lin Jin-lung, a research fellow at Academia Sinica.

The SARS outbreak kept most consumers at home and resulted in negative economic growth of 0.08 percent during the April to June period, according to Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics’ (DGBAS) data.

But the nation’s economy began to regain its footing in the second half following the recovery of the world economy, and especially the solid recovery in the US. As a result, investment by both local companies and multinational firms in Taiwan amounted to some 21.3 billion for the whole of last year, after local businesses felt confident about investing in new plants and equipment.