Mon, Feb 08, 2021 page15

• Investors score high in Year of the Rat

  WEATHERING COVID-19: The TAIEX’s 30 percent increase over the past year came on the back of TSMC’s and other chipmakers’ strong performance amid the pandemic

  • Staff writer, with CNA
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  Equity investors in Taiwan earned about NT$1 million (US$35,224) on average in the past lunar year, boosted by a 30 percent rise in share prices, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.

  On Friday, the last trading session in the Year of the Rat, the benchmark index closed at 15,802.40, which is 3,683.69 points, or 30.4 percent, higher than in the last session in the previous lunar year, the Year of the Pig.

  Market capitalization increased by NT$11.37 trillion, or 30.92 percent, from a year earlier to NT$48.16 trillion.

  

  A man looks at an electronic stock board at a brokerage firm in Taipei on Friday last week. The TAIEX closed higher at 15,802.40 points on the last trading session in the Year of the Rat on Friday. During the Year of the Rat, which had its first trading session on Jan. 30 last year, the TAIEX rose 3,683.69 points or 30.4 percent.

  Photo: CNA

  As of the end of last month, there were 11.28 million investors on the equity market, earning about NT$1.1 million on average in the 12-month period, the data showed.

  Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, global financial markets remained resilient, as the US Federal Reserve and other major central banks pumped cash into economies, analysts said.

  The spillover effects of loose monetary policies led to strong and sustained fund inflows into Taiwan, they said.

  The TAIEX on Jan. 7 surpassed 15,000 points, peaked at 16,153.77 points on Jan. 21 and finished at 15,802.40 on Friday.

  The gains were driven largely by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), which soared almost 90 percent in the Year of the Rat.

  TSMC remained the global leader in high-end technology development, weathering headwinds from the pandemic, analysts said.

  TSMC reallocated capacity after it lost orders from one of its major customers, Huawei Technologies Co (華為), due to US sanctions on the Chinese firm, they said.

  In the Year of the Rat, TSMC’s market cap rose by NT$7.75 trillion to NT$16.38 trillion, as its shares soared by NT$299.00. Its shareholders earned NT$309,000 for every 1,000 shares, in addition to a cash dividend of NT$10 per share.

  TSMC’s gains contributed 2,546 points to the TAIEX’s increase in the past lunar year.

  The chipmaker remained the most profitable company in Taiwan, posting a record net profit of NT$517.89 billion, or earnings per share of NT$19.97.

  TSMC has forecast a 15 percent sales increase this year, while the average growth in the pure-play wafer foundry industry is projected to be 10 percent.

  Among the other companies that contributed significantly to the TAIEX’s gains, integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) posted NT$41.44 billion in net profit, an annual gain of 78.6 percent, driven by increased shipments of 5G chips.

  In the Year of the Rat, MediaTek shares soared NT$531 from a year earlier to close at NT$950, with its market cap increasing by NT$844.29 billion. Its shareholders earned NT$541,500 for every 1,000 shares, in addition to a cash dividend of NT$10.5 per share.

  Trading on the local equity market is to resume on Wednesday next week.
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