More companies from ASEAN nations are considering going public in Taiwan, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp (TWSE, 台灣證交所) said yesterday after a visit by a delegation of 18 Vietnamese firms.
In conjunction with the government’s New Southbound Policy, the TWSE has over the past two years been lobbying ASEAN-based companies to participate.
The delegation led by KPMG (安侯建業) has expressed interest in being listed in Taiwan.
The companies, which visited Singapore before arriving in Taipei, believe that Taiwan’s capital market would be the better place to stage an initial public offering, a TWSE director surnamed Tien (田) told the Taipei Times.
Taiwan’s market capitalization exceeded US$1.08 trillion as of the end of July to rank 17th among 64 regulated exchanges across the globe, based on World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) data, Tien said.
The Singapore Exchange’s US$733 billion market capitalization ranked 21st among WFE members, Tien said, adding that Taiwan has a market turnover rate of 77 percent, compared with Singapore’s 22 percent.
Taiwan also has an average price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41 and market turnover of 77 percent, while the same figures in the Singaporean market are 11.47 and 22 percent respectively, Tien said.
The US$131.2 billion market capitalization of the Ho Chi Minh City Stock Exchange, Vietnam’s main bourse, ranks 37th among WFE members and is just one-10th of Taiwan’s, TWSE officials said.
Seven firms from ASEAN member states have been listed on the TWSE: two from Vietnam, three from Thailand, one from Malaysia and one from Singapore, TWSE data showed.
The businesses are diverse, ranging from household cleaning product, printed circuit board and jewelry makers, to metal processors.
They also include Vietnam-based businesses that were established by Taiwanese founders, such as Taisun International (Holding) Corp (泰昇國際控股).
There are more than 20 companies awaiting approval to be listed on the TWSE, 20 of which are from Vietnam, TWSE officials said.
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