TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Minister Without Portfolio Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said in a press conference on Wednesday that Taiwan’s economic growth in the first quarter was 1.54 percent, which was the best among the Four Asian Tigers, CNA reported.

He said that the unemployment rate in the first quarter increased only 0.04 percent from the same period last year, which was minimal given the impact from the Wuhan coronavirus.

Taiwan put forth measures to encourage Taiwanese businesses in China to reshore last year when the U.S. and China were engaging in a trade war, the minister said, adding that the reshoring is expected to bring back investment totaling NT$1 trillion (US$330 million) and create more than 80,000 job opportunities by May 20.

Kung went on to say that as the coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, some countries such as the U.S. and Japan have begun to take measures to help their businesses decouple from China, according to the report.

Of the NT$1 trillion investment from reshoring, more than NT$200 billion was made last year, the minister said, adding that NT$325.3 billion in investment is expected from reshoring this year, which will account for 1.7 percent of the country’s NT$19 trillion GDP, constituting a great help to the economy.