According to Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA), orders for Taiwanese exports jumped 21.1% from a year earlier to US$51.6 billion in February of 2021, accelerating from an 11.7 % rise in the previous month and beating the expectations of a 12.75% % increase.
Orders remained robust for electronic products (31.6 %) and for information & communication products (29.7 %). Orders from the US jumped 23.5 %, followed by a 22.3% rise in orders from Europe, while those from its main trading partner China were up 17.6%.
Huang Yu-ling, head of the MOEA's Department of Statistics, told reporters that the increase in Taiwan's export orders in February, also represented 24 straight months of growth. This can be attributed to an improvement in the supply of raw materials and robust demand for new emerging technologies such as 5G, high-performance computing and emerging applications.
American investors: How to invest in Taiwan with ETFs
Investors betting on a stellar economic year in Taiwan can gain exposure through exchange-traded funds. iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT) and Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF (FLTW) are two available options. EWT is the largest with over $6.5 billion in assets under management. The fund seeks to track the MSCI Taiwan 25/50 Index and invests in large and mid-sized companies in Taiwan. In terms of sector allocation, information technology (58%) has the highest exposure, followed by financials (20%), materials (7.47%), and industrials (5%). As of March 18th, 2022, there are 87 holdings. The top leading names include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (21%), Mediatek inc. (4.76%), Hon Hai Precision Industry Ltd. (4.22%), United Micro Electronics (2.15%), and Fubon Financial Holdings Ltd. (2.02%).
EWT has a total expense ratio of 0.57% and trades on the NYSE Arca. This year, the ETF's share price has dropped by -6.1% on rising global macroeconomic and geopolitical turmoil.
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