The National Stabilization Fund (國安基金) earned a profit of about NT$25 billion (US$792 million) by selling NT$62 billion in shares on Taiwan’s stock market between March 1 and April 9, a financial official said on Friday.
Speaking to reporters after a regular fund meeting, the official said the fund racked up NT$21.5 billion in profit last month alone after selling shares valued at NT$52 billion. It was the fund’s best performance in any single month in its history.
During the same period, the TAIEX surged from 7,577 points to 7,920, he said. The market closed up at 8,092 points on Friday.
The fund still holds NT$31.1 billion in local shares, with NT$11.1 billion in unrealized profits, the official said, adding that since the beginning of the year it has begun to gradually sell its holdings as the economy improved, without impacting the stock market.
The government-run fund bought as much as NT$59.9 billion in shares in September last year to stabilize Taiwan’s stock exchange after the global financial crisis erupted.
Established to mitigate volatility in local share prices created by external factors, the fund]s transactions can also cause fluctuations in stock prices directly.
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