Most institutional investors remain confident in Taiwan’s stock market, despite looming concerns including China’s slowing economic growth momentum, a potential interest rate hike in the US and rising volatility in global markets, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday.
The remarks came after the commission gathered representatives from 43 foreign and domestic brokerages and securities investment trust companies to hear its briefing on the current market situation.
The companies told the commission that given the lack of runaway systemic risk and largely sound fundamentals, recent tumbles on the TAIEX were overdone.
In addition, the representatives said they had seen signs of optimism, as most investors did not rush to redeem their mutual funds linked to Taiwanese shares and fund managers also did not sell off positions in droves. Rather, some fund managers had been weighing in on blue-chips when appropriate, they said.
The commission told reporters after the meeting that it had received a list of suggestions from the industry representatives.
The commission has pledged to work toward resolving issues surrounding the capital gains tax on securities investment and other related tax issues, it said.
In addition, the commission has agreed to relax stop-loss requirements for securities investment trust companies and brokerages, while stock positions purchased by dealers at brokerages might be booked under the financial assets available for sale category, the commission said.
Separately, the commission yesterday approved CTBC Financial Holding Co’s (中信金控) plans to acquire a 100 percent stake in Taiwan Life Insurance Co (台灣人壽保險) through a share-swap.
However, the commission fined CTBC Bank Co (中國信託銀行) NT$3 million (US$91,547) as it was discovered that one of its employees had committed bank fraud by transferring funds from a client’s accounts after gaining their Web banking password.
The employee had also terminated clients insurance policies and had received cash from clients in a personal capacity, racking up several infractions of the Banking Act (銀行法).
The commission has ordered the bank to sack the employee.
After several years flying high as Asia’s best Nvidia Corp proxy, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) is increasingly vying with other artificial intelligence (AI) stocks for investor attention. Stock traders are chasing a wider array of beneficiaries as mainstream usage of AI creates demand for hardware beyond the most-advanced chips TSMC makes for Nvidia. Subthemes from the deepening memory crunch to advances in robotics are also luring bids. At the same time, investment caps on single stocks are pushing funds to diversify, while retail investors long familiar with TSMC through its US depositary receipts are being offered a broader set of
TECH RELIANCE: Growth is increasingly reflecting an unequal K-shaped distribution, where technology sectors outperform and other industries struggle, an expert said Standard Chartered Bank has significantly raised its forecast for Taiwan’s economic growth to 9.5 percent this year, up from 7.6 percent previously, citing surging artificial intelligence (AI) demand driving exports, semiconductor production and investment. The upgrade reflects a sustained AI supercycle that continues to fuel demand for advanced chips and technology infrastructure, which form the backbone of Taiwan’s exports, the bank said in a report this week. “We raise our 2026 growth forecast to reflect a much stronger-than-expected first-quarter GDP figure,” Standard Chartered senior economist for greater China and Asia Tommy Wu (胡東安) said in the report. Driven largely by a 35.3 percent
UNDER MICROSCOPE: Taiwan detained three people who allegedly conspired to buy servers in Taiwan and export them using fraudulent documentation, prosecutors said Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Saturday urged Super Micro Computer Inc to tighten up on compliance after Taiwan detained three people this week for allegedly making fraudulent declarations about artificial intelligence (AI) servers made by its US partner. The development marked the nation’s first crackdown on semiconductor smuggling, which grew after the US slapped restrictions on exports of high-end chips such as Nvidia AI accelerators to China. Nvidia is “rigorous” in explaining regulations to all of its partners, Huang told reporters after arriving in Taipei. “Ultimately Super Micro has to run their own company,” he said in response to
Two of Taiwan’s international carriers, Starlux Airlines Co (星宇航空) and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空), have retained the five-star airline rating awarded by international airline review organization Skytrax. Starlux was awarded the distinction for a second consecutive year, while EVA Air received it for the 11th straight year, Skytrax said in statements released yesterday and on Thursday last week, respectively. The five-star rating is considered one of the airline industry's highest honors and is awarded following professional audits of airline product and frontline service standards, Skytrax said. The ratings are based on in-depth assessments using unified global quality standards rather than customer review scores
RSS