Listed firms in Taiwan reported record combined profit of NT$243 billion (US$8.78 billion) from investments in China and NT$576.3 billion from investments in other overseas markets in the first half of this year, with the electronics, semiconductor and shipping sectors contributing the most, the Financial Supervisory Commission said yesterday.
Commission data showed that as of the end of June, 1,196 listed companies, or about 73 percent of the nation’s 1,629 listed firms, had investments in China.
The combined profit from the Chinese investments was up 57 percent from a year earlier and the highest for the period, the commission told a videoconference.
The commission attributed the growth primarily to contributions from manufacturers of electronics, whose combined profit rose 47 percent to NT$65.1 billion over the six-month period, and petrochemical firms, which collectively reported a 455 percent increase to NT$25 billion.
Semiconductor firms were third, with a combined profit of NT$22.4 billion, up 62 percent, the commission said.
As of the end of March, listed companies’ combined investments in China totaled NT$2.51 trillion, up NT$6.5 billion from the end of last year, it said.
Listed firms reported combined profit of NT$576.3 billion from overseas investments, excluding China, up 275 percent from NT$209.3 billion a year earlier, it said.
Shipping firms led other sectors in gains from non-China investments, registering combined profit of NT$153 billion, about 23 times the NT$6.6 billion of a year earlier, thanks to strong freight rates, the commission said.
Computer suppliers and semiconductor firms were second and third respectively, with combined profit of NT$53.6 billion and NT$48.7 billion, the commission added.
The data showed that as of the end of June, 1,279 listed companies had overseas — excluding China — investments, down by two from the end of last year, with investments expanding by NT$85.4 billion from the end of last year to NT$6.89 trillion.
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