The nation’s money supply measures last month edged up from their year-ago levels on the back of increases in bank loans and investments, the central bank said yesterday.
The narrow M1B money supply gauge, which refers to cash, demand deposits and other liquid deposits, grew 3.69 percent year-on-year, as more Taiwanese invested in stocks, the central bank said.
The TAIEX rallied 88 points last month to 17,027, while average daily turnover expanded to a two-year high of NT$364.9 billion (US$11.48 billion), it said.
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Securities accounts, a critical gauge of retail investment confidence, climbed for the seventh consecutive month to a record high of NT$3.45 trillion, adding NT$121.2 billion from June, the central bank said.
Retail investors made up 60.9 percent of the market, up from 58.5 percent one month earlier, while institutional players dropped from 29.6 percent to 28.6 percent, the central bank observed.
Foreign portfolio managers cut holdings in local shares by net NT$107.39 billion, consistent with the withdrawal of global funds from emerging markets.
Global funds constantly move from market to market in pursuit of higher returns based on interest rates, GDP growth and other concerns, the central bank said.
The broad money measure of M2, which includes time deposits, time savings, foreign currency deposits, mutual funds and M1B, increased 6.93 percent from a year earlier, it said.
Local currency-based deposits by foreigners rose NT$87.5 billion to NT$278.8 billion, thanks to income from cash dividends, the central bank said.
It is common for foreign investors to repatriate part of their dividend income and park the rest in Taiwan to take advantage of future investment opportunities, the central bank said.
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