The Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange plan to launch a new biotechnology index on Monday to help improve tracking and management of investment risks in the sector.
The TIP Taiwan Market Biotechnology and Medical Care Index is the first to include stocks from both the main board and the over-the-counter market to balance the uncertainties in the rate of return on new drug development with the steadier earning stream of medical equipment and materials manufacturers, which would help cut volatility in the index, Taiwan Stock Exchange chairman Shih Jun-ji (施俊吉) said.
Shih, who also serves as the chairman of Taiwan Index Plus Corp (TIP, 台灣指數), a wholly owned subsidiary of the exchange that is to compile the index, said that it is the first to use the free floating adjusted market capitalization weighting method.
Investors would be able to take advantage of expanded investment product offerings, while furthering the development of the nation’s biotechnology companies, he said.
Based on analysis of historical trading data, the new index offers a more balanced option for investors hoping to tap opportunities in the biotechnology sector, Shih said.
During the past five-and-a-half years ending last month, the new index would have generated a projected return of 22.56 percent, compared with 8.16 percent and 23.49 percent returns on the respective Taiwan Stock Exchange and Taipei Exchange biotechnology indices, he said.
The new index began tracking 52 firms on July 17 with a base value of 5,000 points and intraday quotes are to be made available beginning on Monday, Shih said.
In the two weeks since July 17, the index has posted a 3.1 percent return including cash dividends, TIP said.
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