The Ministry of Economic Affairs would continue to offer the nation’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) financial assistance, and encourage the use of hedging tools against foreign exchange volatility, as the sharp appreciation of the New Taiwan dollar since early May has seriously affected their operations, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang said yesterday.
The ministry would step up promotion of three hedging tools, including foreign exchange forward contracts, foreign exchange options and natural hedging to SMEs, while helping them connect with banks to explore alternative hedging instruments, Ho said at a news conference in Taipei.
Firms most affected by the sharp appreciation of the NT dollar are those in the metal, machine tools, machinery, textiles, plastics and rubber, auto parts, food, electronic components, and information and communications industries, he said.
The ministry has set up a foreign exchange response team, which is expected to run for at least three months to offer SMEs clear countermeasures, accessible consultation and practical tools they can use when needed, Small and Medium Enterprise Startup Administration Director-General Lee Guann-jyh said.
The team is mainly composed of personnel from the administration, the Industrial Development and International Trade administrations, Lee said.
The ministry earlier yesterday held a meeting with eight state-run banks — Bank of Taiwan Co, Land Bank of Taiwan Co, Taiwan Cooperative Bank Ltd, First Commercial Bank Co, Hua Nan Commercial Bank Ltd, Chang Hwa Commercial Bank Ltd, Mega International Commercial Bank Co and Taiwan Business Bank Co — to discuss how to assist SMEs.
The ministry would continue talks with the banks on further lowering fees for SMEs applying for financial aid, it said.
In April, the ministry announced it would offer up to NT$6 billion (US$206.8 million) in loan guarantees for SMEs directly affected by US tariffs, and an additional NT$5 billion for those indirectly affected.
Each SME could receive up to NT$60 million in guarantees and large firms could qualify for up to NT$100 million, while firms with fewer than 30 employees could receive loan guarantees of up to NT$35 million, it said.
The Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund of Taiwan provided about NT$159 billion in loan guarantees to small, medium and micro-sized enterprises last month, up 7.8 percent from NT$147.5 billion in May, a fund official told the Taipei Times by telephone.
That represented a 5 percent increase to NT$829.4 billion in the first half of this year, up from NT$790.2 billion a year earlier, the official said on condition of anonymity.
Source: https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2025/07/03/2003839629