The nation’s listed companies reported combined Chinese investment gains of NT$154.3 billion (US$5.23 billion) in the first half of the year, up 37 percent year-on-year, and the highest for the period, Financial Supervisory Commission data released on Tuesday showed, as some companies recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and benefited from rising demand for devices used for remote working.
Chinese investment gains plunged 36 percent annually to NT$23.3 billion in the first quarter due to the COVID-19 outbreak, but increased 72 percent to NT$131 billion in the second quarter, the data showed.
“Demand for remote-working devices and consumer electronics rose, as people needed to work from home while under lockdown, which benefited our electronic providers,” Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) said.
Listed companies trimmed their investments in China by NT$4 billion in the second quarter, despite investment gains, data showed.
As of the end of June, listed firms’ accumulated investment in China totaled NT$2.524 trillion, up NT$13.4 billion from the end of last year, while the number of listed firms with investments in China dropped to 1,191, seven fewer than the end of last year, data showed.
Tsai said that the number of listed companies investing in China tends to fluctuate, so it was uncertain whether the pandemic could be blamed for firms leaving the market.
“While some firms left the market, other companies continued expanding production there or set up new subsidiaries,” Tsai said. “Computer firms and electronic component providers particularly increased their investment.”
Listed companies repatriated NT$18.1 billion of investment gains to Taiwan during the first half of this year, accounting for 20.15 percent of their total investment in China, data showed.
That raised accumulated repatriated funds to NT$508.7 billion, data showed.
Total overseas investment gains by listed firms increased 5 percent annually to NT$209.3 billion in the first half, thanks to a 41 percent increase in gains in the second quarter of NT$171.6 billion boosted by an increase in orders for devices used for remote working, Tsai said.
Sweeping policy changes under US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr are having a chilling effect on vaccine makers as anti-vaccine rhetoric has turned into concrete changes in inoculation schedules and recommendations, investors and executives said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has in the past year upended vaccine recommendations, with the country last month ending its longstanding guidance that all children receive inoculations against flu, hepatitis A and other diseases. The unprecedented changes have led to diminished vaccine usage, hurt the investment case for some biotechs, and created a drag that would likely dent revenues and
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