The National Stabilization Fund (NSF) reported a net income of NT$29.73 billion (US$920.4 million) in the first half of the year, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday, adding that the fund sold off most of its shareholdings from March to last month.
The fund, which earned about NT$25 billion in the first quarter and NT$4.73 billion in the second quarter from share sales, had net total assets of NT$46.2 billion at the end of last month, with an unrealized profit of NT$531.85 million, the ministry said.
“There’s no so-called ‘exiting the market.’ [The fund] is always ready to buy or sell shares depending on market conditions,” Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德) told a media briefing following the fund’s regular quarterly meeting.
“The purpose of the stabilization fund is to maintain stability in the stock market. When the stock market improves, we must dispose of some shareholdings,” Lee said, adding that until the end of last month, the fund had a rather smooth run.
The fund began buying shares in September 2008 at the outset of the global financial crisis to help stabilize local markets, eventually buying NT$59.9 billion in shares.
Vice Premier Sean Chen (陳冲) declined to say at the briefing how much money the fund had invested in stocks or when the fund would sell further holdings.
“The stabilization fund has been selling its holdings since May last year. As of last month, the fund had sold NT$89.5 billion in shares, which it bought for NT$58.2 billion,” Chen said. “The NSF has also paid off all its debts of about NT$48.8 billion.”
“Overall, [the fund] had a steady performance [in the first half],” Chen said, adding that there was no need for the fund to enter the market for the time being.
Of the fund’s revenues of NT$31.36 billion in the first two quarters, the ministry said it had deposited NT$1.56 billion in special reserves and it still holds about NT$2.3 billion in shares.
Separately, Chen said the government’s real-estate policies were aimed at “normalizing transactions,” rather than cracking down on the housing market.
“All the government’s policies — such as making information more transparent in the real-estate market and protecting consumers — are aimed at normalizing transactions in the housing market and that is not a crackdown on the market,” Chen said.
Asked if the central bank is trying to stabilize the housing market, Chen said the bank just wanted to keep the financial market stable.
“If everyone knows the exact price transaction in a specific area under certain conditions, real estate speculators will certainly have less room to maneuver in the market,” Chen said.
purpose: Tesla’s CEO sought to meet senior Chinese officials to discuss the rollout of its ‘full self-driving’ software in China and approval to transfer data they had collected Tesla Inc CEO Elon Musk arrived in Beijing yesterday on an unannounced visit, where he is expected to meet senior officials to discuss the rollout of "full self-driving" (FSD) software and permission to transfer data overseas, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Chinese state media reported that he met Premier Li Qiang (李強) in Beijing, during which Li told Musk that Tesla's development in China could be regarded as a successful example of US-China economic and trade cooperation. Musk confirmed his meeting with the premier yesterday with a post on social media platform X. "Honored to meet with Premier Li
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The chipmaker last month raised its capital spending by 28 percent for this year to NT$32 billion from a previous estimate of NT$25 billion Contract chipmaker Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電子) yesterday launched a new 12-inch fab, tapping into advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging technology to support rising demand for artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Powerchip is to offer interposers, one of three parts in CoWoS packaging technology, with shipments scheduled for the second half of this year, Powerchip chairman Frank Huang (黃崇仁) told reporters on the sidelines of a fab inauguration ceremony in the Tongluo Science Park (銅鑼科學園區) in Miaoli County yesterday. “We are working with customers to supply CoWoS-related business, utilizing part of this new fab’s capacity,” Huang said, adding that Powerchip intended to bridge
Dutch brewing company Heineken NV on Friday announced an investment of NT$13.5 billion (US$414.62 million) over the next five years in Taiwan. The first multinational brewing company to operate in Taiwan, Heineken made the statement at a ceremony held at its brewery in Pingtung County. It also outlined its efforts to make the brewery “net zero” by 2030. Heineken has been in the Taiwanese market for 20 years, Heineken Taiwan managing director Jeff Wu (吳建甫) said. With strong support from local consumers, the Dutch brewery decided to transition from sales to manufacturing in the country, Wu said. Heineken assumed majority ownership and management rights
Microsoft Corp yesterday said that it would create Thailand’s first data center region to boost cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure, promising AI training to more than 100,000 people to develop tech. Bangkok is a key economic player in Southeast Asia, but it has lagged behind Indonesia and Singapore when it comes to the tech industry. Thailand has an “incredible opportunity to build a digital-first, AI-powered future,” Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella said at an event in Bangkok. Data center regions are physical locations that store computing infrastructure, allowing secure and reliable access to cloud platforms. The global embrace of AI