Publicly listed firms repatriated NT$60.6 billion (US$1.9 billion) of investment gains from China in the first half of this year, an 8.61 percent increase from a year earlier and the highest figure on record for the period, driven mainly by the electronic components sector, data released by the Financial Supervisory Commission on Tuesday showed.
The firms — including those listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and the Taipei Exchange — remitted their investment income, dividends and proceeds from share sales back home to align with their business groups’ capital planning strategies, the commission said.
However, listed firms’ combined profit of NT$183.8 billion from their Chinese investments fell NT$20 billion, or 9.81 percent, from the same period last year, although the figure is the third-highest on record, the commission’s data showed.
Photo: Joe Wang / TWSE / Handout via Reuters
The commission attributed the decrease in profit mainly to the effects of declining market demand, inventory adjustments and rising raw material prices, with the plastics, electronic components, semiconductor and optoelectronics sectors registering larger declines in profitability than other sectors.
Statistics compiled by the commission also showed that 1,202 listed Taiwanese companies had invested in China as of the end of June, eight less than at the end of last year, but still accounting for 71.34 percent of all listed companies.
The data reflect a trend that more listed firms are repatriating their investment gains from the world’s second-largest economy amid rising risks in China’s business environment, and because of their parent companies’ funding needs and global planning strategies.
Aggregate investments by listed Taiwanese companies in China totaled NT$2.72 trillion at the end of June, up NT$20.4 billion, or 0.75 percent, from the end of last year, as firms boosted working capital at their Chinese subsidiaries, the commission said.
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