The government, facing a tight battle for re-election in a presidential and legislative vote on Jan. 14, held the first meeting of a special economic taskforce on Thursday, and laid out seven measures to boost the economy in 2012. The measures include changing the investment strategy of the four state funds to focus on long-term returns, assisting smaller companies to acquire loans, loan relief for the unemployed, and encouraging insurance funds to invest in public works. The plans come as the central bank said in a research paper released late on Thursday that the impact on Taiwan's financial system from the euro zone debt crisis would be limited because the island's banks had very low exposure to European debt. But it said that the impact on the stock market would be great as foreign investors pulled out, which would feed into poor sentiment and impact domestic consumption. At the same time, slowing exports would hit domestic investment, pushing up the jobless rate. The bleak assessment comes as data shows that growth in exports and orders for future exports in November was the slowest in two years, and the government raised the possibility that future orders could contract in December. The island is one of the most open of the region's exporters, with an exports-to-GDP ratio of 74 percent compared with South Korea's 49 percent and China's 29 percent, according to figures from RBS Global Banking and Markets. That openness makes it more vulnerable to falls in external demand, given the lack of other economic drivers. The central bank will meet on Dec. 29 for its quarterly rate-setting meeting. Most economists still see it holding rates unchanged at 1.875 percent, although the possibility of a cut is growing. In September, it had rates on hold at 1.875 percent, the first pause in a tightening cycle that began in June 2010. The government has already authorised the National Financial Stabilisation Fund to step in to support the stock market. The fund is used to maintain stability in markets in the event of major ructions, and was last deployed during the 2008 crisis. Deputy Premier Sean Chen told a taskforce meeting that there was no time limit on the fund's involvement in the market, media reports said on Friday.