The private sector: The government has established an advisory committee that is responsible for overseeing production; its main purpose is to promote foreign sale. There is only one organ of cooperative financing -- the Cooperative Bank of Taiwan, jointly owned by the government and cooperatives. In addition there are four private commercial banks.

The public sector: Since 1953 the government has promulgated successive four-year economic development plans to spur industrial expansion and economic growth. Ten enterprises, in the fields of sugar, petroleum an natural gas, fertilizer, aluminum, copper, shipbuilding and repairs, and railways, are government monopolies.

In order to promote economic development, the government controls and helps private enterprises to employ new techniques and locate foreign investment. Most manufacturing industries receive technical cooperation with foreign companies. Because Taiwan is an island and thus limited in resources and in domestic market, it must exchange goods with other countries and exploit overseas markets in order to support mass production and cut down its production costs. Although labor costs are low, shortages of labor in the future could result from success in achieving rapid economic growth.

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