Thanks to a more diversified structure, the local stock market is healthier today than in 1990, when it crashed after the weighted index hit a peak of 12,682 points, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) chairman Hsu Jan-yau (許璋瑤) said yesterday.
Hsu’s comment came amid rising concern about whether a stock market bubble is forming, as the TAIEX has kept hitting new records for the past few months.
“It is no surprise that investors are concerned and we are glad to see that they are being cautious about investing. However, the current composition of TWSE-listed companies is different from that 30 years ago,” Hsu said at a ceremony to celebrate the exchange’s 60th anniversary.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The majority of TWSE-listed companies in 1990 were in the traditional (60 percent) and financial industries (37 percent), while technology companies only made up 2 percent of the total, he said.
It was difficult for such a structure to sustain high growth, he added.
The main board’s structure has become more diversified, with the electronics sector accounting for 67 percent of TWSE-listed companies, the traditional sector 18 percent and the financial sector 10 percent, Hsu said.
As Taiwanese electronics companies are competitive, they have supported the TAIEX’s rise, he said.
However, an overconcentration in any industry is a risk, so the TWSE is working on helping local or foreign start-ups raise capital by setting up a new trading board, the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB), which was approved by the Financial Supervisory Commission last year.
That conforms to President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) policy of promoting industrial diversification, he said.
Tsai yesterday visited the TWSE to thank employees for their work and maintaining the exchange’s smooth operation, despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said she hoped a new bull market has begun before the start of the Year of the Ox.
The government would ensure that Taiwan continues to hold a key position in the global supply chain network as a center of high-end manufacturing, high-tech research and development, advanced manufacturing for semiconductors and green energy, Tsai said.
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