The Taiwan Monthly
About the TWSE
Taiwan's stock market leads internationally with eight highlights
Leveraging strong fundamentals and ample liquidity, Taiwan's capital market has shown remarkable competitiveness and resilience, consistently leading Asia and ranking among the top global performers in index achievement and market capitalization growth. Significant progress has been made in enhancing financial inclusion and fostering product innovation. Over half of the total population is participating in the stock market, with notable growth in ETF popularity.
On May 16, the TWSE released a press statement highlighting eight key achievements:
1. Historic Index Performance and Market Growth: As of May 16, TAIEX reached 21,304.26 points, marking a historic landmark, with a growth of 155.5% since the end of 2015, and respective 77.6% and 18.8% increases over the past four years and in 2024 alone. Market capitalization surged to NT$67.8 trillion, a 1.8-fold gain from the end of 2015, and an approximately 86.2% increase from the end of 2019, highlighting exceptional performance relative to the international market.
2. Enhanced Liquidity: Average daily turnover surged from NT$92.2 billion in 2015 to NT$403.1 billion from January to April of this year. Foreign-owned stocks' market value proportion increased to 42.65%, with trading value proportion also increasing to 32.4%.
3. Financial Inclusion: Fixed term fixed amount investment plans and intraday odd-lot trading have increased investor participation, with trading accounts reaching 12.77 million (54% of the population), significantly up from 40% in 2015. The under-30 demographic's participation rose from 25% to 50%.
4. Product Innovation: ETFs have grown rapidly, with AUM increasing 21.3 times since 2015. As of May 10, 2024, there were 159 ETFs listed on the TWSE, with 9.6 million beneficiaries and NT$2.5 trillion in AUM, positioning Taiwan behind only Japan and China in Asia.
5. Fostering Startups: The Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) has boosted financing for startups since it was launched in 2021. IPO applications reached a decade-high in 2023, with capital raised hitting record levels, outperforming major global markets.
6. Emerging Industry Growth: New economic industrial clusters and industry leaders in biotechnology, green energy, and digital services have been nurtured. As of the end of April 2024, the market value of listed new economy industries has exceeded NT$1 trillion, with the market value of the biotechnology and medical care industries surpassing NT$600 billion.
7. Sustainability Disclosure Standards Integration: Taiwan has initiated integration with international sustainability disclosure standards to enhance the capital market's competitiveness. In 2023, Taiwan was ranked third by ACGA among 12 Asian countries, achieving its best performance to date and ranking among the top performers in global emerging market sustainability indices.
8. Sustainable Value Creation: The Taiwan Carbon Solution Exchange launched an international carbon credit trading platform in December 2023, supporting carbon neutrality goals. Domestic carbon credit trading platforms are set to launch in the second half of this year.
For further information, please contact Mr. Lin at 1241@twse.com.tw