TAIPEI - EVERYONE in Taiwan will be given more than US$100 (S$152) in shopping vouchers in a government bid to boost the economy amid the global credit crisis, the prime minister announced on Tuesday.

Under the scheme, the island's 23 million people regardless of age or wealth will be given 3,600 Taiwan dollars (US$166.40), Premier Liu Chao-shiuan told reporters.

He added that the programme would cost some 82 billion Taiwan dollars, while those people who donated their coupons would be able to file for tax deductions.

It is expected to be implemented as early as January in time for the Lunar New Year holidays which will begin on January 26.

'The programme is aimed at boosting the economy ... and is expected to contribute to a 0.64 per cent increase in 2009 GDP', Mr Liu said.

Taiwan's gross domestic product growth is projected at 5.08 per cent for 2009 according to government figures, after an estimated 4.30 per cent for 2008.

However, analysts and businessmen were more sceptical.

'I can't see that the programme will have much impact on the GDP. If people can't make their ends meet, they won't be encouraged to spend more just by getting the vouchers', said Mr Johnny Lee, an analyst at President Securities.

'I think the government should focus on long-term plans to boost consumer confidence, such as lowering commodity prices, improving job securities and reviving the economy', he said.

Douglas Hsu, head of the Far Eastern Group which includes the leading Sogo department store chain, also sounded a note of caution.

'I support it as it can stimulate some (spending) but it's not an elixir', he told reporters.

The vouchers, which will expire in December 2009, can be used at registered retail stores, supermarkets and restaurants, officials said.

The scheme, proposed by the island's top economics planning body, the Council for Economic Planning and Development, is based on a similar initiative launched by Japan in 1999.

Taiwan has launched a string of initiatives this year aimed at boosting investment and consumer spending, including an economic stimulus package worth 5.6 billion US dollars.

But the island's economy continued to show signs of slowing, with the index of leading indicators in September falling 0.3 per cent from August, the government said.

October exports, the engine of the economy, fell 8.3 per cent from a year earlier, largely on falling demand for electronic and precision products amid the global economic slump.

The figures, together with an updated IMF forecast, prompted Taiwan's central bank to further lower interest rates by 25 basis points last week - the fourth cut in just over a month.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this month predicted that advanced economies - major export markets of Taiwan - would shrink next year under pressure from the global credit squeeze, forcing a new round of European interest rate cuts.

The government lowered its economic growth forecast for 2008 to 4.30 per cent from 4.78 per cent, but an increasing number of economists and analysts regard the revision as too optimistic given the current economic turmoil. -- AFP