Taiwan’s foreign exchange reserves last month climbed to US$543.28 billion — the second-highest figure in the nation’s history — increasing for a third consecutive month and retaining the fifth-largest position globally, the central bank said yesterday.
Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) mainly attributed the monthly increase of US$304 million in foreign exchange reserves last month to the central bank’s management, even though its euro, British pound, Japanese yen and Chinese yuan holdings weakened against the US dollar.
“Overall, the market maintained its equilibrium despite a net global fund outflow,” Tsai said.
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
Foreign funds fled Taiwan last month after US economic data beat market expectations and the US Federal Reserve said that it would contemplate raising interest rates ahead of schedule, Tsai said.
The greenback gained in value as a result of global capital movements, he said.
Foreign portfolio managers trimmed their holdings in local shares by US$1.92 billion and wired another US$2.7 billion in capital gains, Tsai said, citing data from the Financial Supervisory Commission.
Still, local securities and debts held by foreign investors totaled US$715.7 billion, equivalent to 1.32 times the nation’s foreign exchange reserves, the central bank said.
That was steady from one month earlier and meant foreign funds remained interested in local stocks, explaining why the TAIEX repeatedly rallied to record highs, Tsai said.
The TAIEX ended up 1.18 percent at a record 17,919.33 yesterday, Taiwan Stock Exchange data showed.
China remained the top holder of foreign exchange reserves globally, followed by Japan, Switzerland and India, Tsai said.
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