TWSE Listed Companies Dear South Korean Colleagues

• By Kao Shih-ching / Staff Reporter

The combined market value of all publicly traded companies in Taiwan grew to NT$62 trillion (US$2.24 trillion) late last year, outperforming South Korean companies for the first time, Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) chairman Hsu Jan-yau (許) said yesterday.

The market value of Taiwan’s stock market ranks 16th among global exchanges, 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 companies listed on the Taipei Exchange (TPEX) grew by 31 percent. percent rose to NT$5.78 trillion, data exchange showed.

Photo: Chen Yung-chi, Taipei Times

Average daily revenue rose 95 percent annually to NT$391.4 billion, not only the highest in local market history, but also the eighth last year among global stock markets, exchange data shows.

Foreign institutional investors sold $454.1 billion worth of local equities last year, while the market capitalization of equities owned by foreign investors to total market value fell from 45 percent in 2020 to 43.5 percent, exchange data shows.

“While foreign institutional investors have sold more than NT$1 trillion in net local equities in the past two years, local equities continued to rise as the impact was offset by purchases by local investors,” Hsu said.

Last year, a total of 770,000 investors opened trading accounts, up 15 percent year on year, exchange data shows.

Hsu has good prospects for local equities this year, citing their high dividend yields and low price-to-earnings ratios, and Taiwan’s economy projected to grow by 4 percent this year.

However, there are elements of uncertainty, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation and interest rate hikes, he added.

The TWSE will continue to look for start-ups and companies with high potential to be included on the Taiwan Innovation Board, Hsu said, adding that he aims to have 10 companies included on the new board.

While few companies were interested in the new board last year, 30 companies applied to list their shares on the board, the highest number since 2017, he added.

Total amount raised through IPOs rose 198 percent year-on-year to NT$25 billion, the highest since 2017, while funds raised in the second public offering grew 127 percent annually to NT$ 177.7 billion, also the highest amount since 2017, data showed.