Taipei, Feb. 6 (CNA) Equity investors in Taiwan earned about NT$1 million (US$35,211) on average in the past lunar Year of the Rat, boosted by a 30 percent rise in share prices, according to the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE).
On Friday, the last trading session in the Year of the Rat, the benchmark weighted index on the local main board (Taiex) closed at 15,802.40, which was 3,683.69 points, or 30.4 percent, higher than in the last session in the previous lunar year, the Year of the Pig.
With the strong stock showing last lunar year, the Taiex’s market capitalization increased by NT$11.37 trillion, or 30.92 percent, from a year earlier to NT$48.16 trillion.
As of the end of January, there were 11.28 million equity investors on the equity market, and they each earned about NT$1.1 million on average, riding the wave of solid market gains, TWSE data showed.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, market analysts said, global financial markets remained resilient, as the United States Federal Reserve and other major central banks pumped funds into the economies.
The spillover effects of those monetary policies resulted in strong and sustained fund inflows into Taiwan, analysts said.
The Taiex closed above 15,000 points on Jan 7, ending at a record high of 16,153.77 on Jan. 21, and finished at 15,802.40 Friday on limited profit-taking.
The gains were driven largely by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the most heavily weighted stock on the local market, which soared almost 90 percent in the Year of the Rat.
TSMC managed to maintain its global lead in high-end technology development and thus weathered the headwinds from the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts said.
With its production of highly competitive semiconductor processes, TSMC was able to reallocate its capacity after the loss of orders from one of its major clients, Huawei Technologies Co., which was hit by sanctions from the U.S., analysts said.
In the Year of the Rat, TSMC’s market cap rose by NT$7.75 trillion to NT$16.38 trillion, as its shares soared by NT$299.00. Its shareholders earned NT$309,000 for every 1,000 shares, in addition to a cash dividend of NT$10 per share.
With the stock’s heavy weighting, TSMC’s gains contributed about 2,546 points to the Taiex’s increase in the past lunar year.
In 2020, TSMC remained the most profitable company in Taiwan, in terms of net income, posting a record NT$517.89 billion in net profit, or NT$19.97 per share.
The chipmaker has forecast a 15 percent sales increase in 2021, in U.S. dollar terms, while the average growth in the pure-play wafer foundry industry is projected at 10 percent.
Among the other companies that contributed significantly to the Taiex’s gains in 2020, integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc. posted NT$41.44 billion in net profit, an annual gain of 78.6 percent, driven by increased shipments of 5G chips. .
In the Year of the Rat, MediaTek shares soared NT$531 from a year earlier to close at NT$950, with its market cap increasing by NT$844.29 billion. Its shareholders earned NT$541,500 for every 1,000 shares, plus a cash dividend of NT$10.5 per share.
Trading on the local equity market will resume Feb. 17, the first trading day of the Year of the Ox, after the Lunar New Year holiday.