Taipei: The management committee of the National Financial Stabilization Fund has decided not to step in to support Taiwan's stock market despite disruptions caused by ongoing conflict in the Middle East, according to the Ministry of Finance (MOF).
According to Focus Taiwan, the MOF stated that the committee chose not to intervene because of Taiwan's stable economic fundamentals and the government's effective price-stabilization measures, which have mitigated the impact of rising crude oil prices. Although the United States-Israeli conflict with Iran has affected global financial markets, Taiwan's exports remain robust, and numerous listed companies continue to report growth in sales and earnings, keeping the market stable.
The NT$500 billion (US$15.75 billion) stabilization fund was established in 2000 by the government to act as a safeguard against unexpected external factors that might disrupt local stock markets. Earlier this year, on January 12, the fund withdrew from the market after a 279-day intervention period, the longest on record, to manage volatility caused by tariff policies from the Trump administration.
Since the fund's withdrawal on January 12, the Taiwan Stock Exchange's benchmark index, the Taiex, has risen approximately 16 percent as of Monday, suggesting that the fund's absence did not negatively impact the market. In the first quarter of this year, the stabilization fund sold some of the shares acquired during its latest intervention and made a net profit of NT$8.054 billion, according to the MOF.
By the end of March, the fund still held shares valued at NT$3.56 billion and had unrealized gains of NT$1.273 billion, the MOF reported.