The Government of Taiwan will reportedly provide $1.9 billion to the country’s shipping industry by allowing Taiwanese shipping companies like Evergreen Line and Yang Ming, Taiwan’s two leading container carriers that have had losses for at least four quarters, to apply for low interest loans at a current interest rate of 2.9%.
The Taiwanese cabinet is expected to approve the financial aid package shortly with the goal to stabilize the industry. It is the first time Taiwan’s government will have issued a financial aid package specifically for the shipping industry.
In the first nine months of 2016, Evergreen Marine experienced a loss of 7.46 billion NTD compared with a loss of 760 million NTD in the first nine months of 2015, while Yang Ming had a loss of about 12.98 billion NTD in the first nine months of 2016 compared with a loss of about 3.98 billion NTD in in the first nine months of 2015 according to information posted on the Taiwan Stock Exchange website. In the same time period revenues for both carriers have fallen, suggesting that losses for the current business year will increase even more.