Gov't to intervene to stop stock plummet

TAIPEI, Taiwan -- The government will intervene through its four state-managed funds to drive up the local equity market, which plummeted over the past two days along with a worldwide stock price plunge, Executive Yuan spokesman Shieh Jhy-wey said yesterday.
Shieh declined to elaborate "out of respect for market forces," saying only that the Executive Yuan is concerned about the stock market.

He attributed the local market's sudden drop to the worldwide stock price plunge, saying the government-managed funds will begin to bid on stocks at an appropriate time.

He made the comment after a weekly Cabinet meeting.

The four funds -- the Labor Insurance Fund, the Labor Pension Fund, the Postal Savings Fund and the Civil Servant Pension Fund -- have combined funds of more than NT$3.31 trillion, and NT$425.8 billion of which can be invested in the stock market.