The combined market value of all publicly listed companies in Taiwan grew to NT$62 trillion (US$2.24 trillion) at the end of last year, outperforming South Korean firms for the first time, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) chairman Hsu Jan-yau (許璋瑤) said yesterday.
The market value of Taiwan’s stock market ranked 16th among global bourses, Hsu said.
The combined market value of all companies listed on the TWSE grew 25 percent from NT$44.9 trillion in 2020 to NT$56.3 trillion last year, while that of all firms listed on the Taipei Exchange (TPEX) rose 31 percent to NT$5.78 trillion, exchange data showed.
Photo: Chen Yung-chi, Taipei Times
Average daily turnover advanced 95 percent annually to NT$391.4 billion, not only the highest in the local market’s history, but also the eighth-highest among global stock markets last year, exchange data showed.
Foreign institutional investors sold a net NT$454.1 billion of local shares last year, while the market cap of shares held by foreign investors to overall market value slid to 43.5 percent from 45 percent in 2020, exchange data showed.
“Although foreign institutional investors sold more than NT$1 trillion in net local shares over the past two years, local stocks still advanced, as the impact was offset by purchases by local investors,” Hsu said.
A total of 770,000 investors opened trading accounts last year, up 15 percent year-on-year, exchange data showed.
Hsu holds an upbeat outlook for local equities this year, citing their high dividend yields and low price-to-earnings ratios, and the Taiwanese economy’s expected growth of 4 percent this year.
However, there are elements of uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and rate hikes, he added.
The TWSE would continue to seek start-ups and high-potential companies to list on the Taiwan Innovation Board, Hsu said, adding that he aims to have 10 firms listed on the new board.
Although few firms were last year interested in the new board, 30 companies applied to list their shares on the main board, the highest since 2017, he added.
The overall amount of funds raised in initial public offerings surged 198 percent from a year earlier to NT$25 billion, the highest since 2017, while funds raised in second public offerings rose 127 percent annually to NT$177.7 billion, also the highest since 2017, exchange data showed.
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