Sovereign wealth funds—state-run investment vehicles built on oil revenue or foreign-exchange surpluses—have made NVIDIA and TSMC core long-term holdings during the AI wave. Norway's NBIM, the world's largest at roughly $2 trillion, discloses a $62 billion NVIDIA stake (1.28% of the company) and a $34 billion TSMC stake, but most other sovereign funds disclose far less, making NBIM's numbers a floor rather than the full picture.
Global central banks are moving in different directions in 2026: the Fed and Taiwan's central bank are holding at 3.50–3.75% and 2.00% with a hawkish tone, while the ECB, BOJ, and BOK have hiked or turned hawkish under Middle East-driven inflation pressure — and these policy rates feed directly into mortgages, savings, currencies, and stock valuations.
Taiwan's three pure online banks narrowed combined accumulated losses to about NT$6.941 billion in H1 2026, down roughly 40% year over year — yet only LINE Bank has turned operationally profitable, while Next Bank's (將來) losses keep widening and Rakuten's (樂天) drop reflects capital-reduction accounting rather than earnings.
D-Wave, Rigetti, Quantum Computing Inc. and IonQ all gained between roughly 8% and 11.5% on August 21, lifted by quarterly results showing steep revenue growth from near-zero prior-year bases, a fresh $35 BMO Capital Markets price target on D-Wave, and NVIDIA's expanding quantum-GPU integration stack.
US Treasury yields have retreated across maturities, with the 10-year falling to 4.704% in August 2025 and further to 4.031% by February 2026, as the Treasury weighs deploying up to $1 trillion from its TGA to buy bonds and extends its debt buyback program. Major banks including Barclays, RBC, and Societe Generale have cut their year-end 10-year forecasts, while markets watch Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole address and a tariff court ruling.
Taiwan's banking sector posted unrealized stock market gains of NT$894.9 billion at the end of June 2026, up 124% year-on-year to a historical high, while adding a net NT$489.6 billion in bonds during the first half. In June alone, banks cut Taiwan stock holdings by NT$6.4 billion but turned net bond buyers with NT$48.6 billion in purchases. Taiwan's banking, insurance, and securities sectors together held NT$5.8838 trillion in stocks and NT$32.1531 trillion in bonds.
The US Treasury doubled its 10-to-30-year bond buyback size from a maximum of $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation, running September 9 to November 4, after the 30-year yield hit a 19-year high of 5.34% on August 18. The yield fell 9 basis points to 5.19% after the announcement, but analysts note the buyback is small next to a $32.2 trillion market.
The New Taiwan Dollar closed at 31.848 per US dollar on August 21, 2026, its strongest level in nearly two months, while the TAIEX rose 290.55 points to 45224.29, reclaiming 45,000. Foreign and Chinese institutional investors net-bought NT$283.05 billion, their second straight day of buying, driving the synchronized currency-equity move.
Runder (潤德, 6881) has secured 28 new engineering orders worth roughly NT$2.1 billion so far in 2026, lifting its total in-hand backlog to about NT$5.9 billion, of which NT$2.3 billion remains unrecognized. First-half 2026 EPS rose to NT$9.51 from NT$8.51 as gross margin improved from 19% to 21%.
CK Hutchison Holdings (長江和記實業) filed international arbitration against Panama on August 20, 2026, seeking over US$1.5 billion after Panama's Supreme Court voided its port concession in January. Panama Ports Company (巴拿馬港口公司, PPC) separately seeks at least US$2 billion, while China and Hong Kong have pledged to defend the firms' rights and the US has welcomed the court ruling.
Tai Hua Holdings (台驊控股) general manager Yen Yi-tsai (顏益財) said roughly 5% of overall shipping capacity was disrupted in the third quarter of 2026 by peak-season demand, one-off incidents, and structural constraints, keeping freight rates at elevated levels with no major problems for Q3. He added that even if rates correct in the fourth quarter, a sharp collapse is unlikely, though a quick reversal in market conditions depends on whether the Red Sea and Hormuz Strait "twin sea crisis" clearly eases.
The New Taiwan Dollar closed at 31.952 against the US dollar on 2026-03-25, holding above the 31 handle as Taiwan's benchmark index jumped 826.87 points and foreign investors ended a four-day selling streak with NT$36.327 billion in net buying. On 2026-08-14, the currency rallied further, opening at 32.15 and reaching a session high of 31.991 as cooling US inflation data weighed on the dollar.
LINE Bank (連線商業銀行) posted pre-tax profit for seven straight months through June 2026, and Taiwan's three digital-only banks together cut accumulated losses to NT$6.941 billion from NT$8.498 billion a year earlier. Rakuten Bank (樂天銀行) sharply reduced its losses through recapitalization, while Next Bank's (將來銀行) losses widened as it kept expanding lending.
TLT closed at $81.35 on August 17, its lowest level since June 2004, after the 30-year Treasury yield hit 5.311% and the 10-year reached 4.724%. Wells Fargo's Luis Alvarado ties the move to a widening federal deficit and AI-driven borrowing, even as BlackRock data shows $6.4 billion flowed into the ETF in the third quarter.
FamilyMart (全家便利商店) said its fresh-food-plus category topped 35% of total revenue in 2024, exceeding NT$30 billion, while full-year consolidated revenue reached NT$105.1 billion, up 5.52% year on year. The company is expanding a first-ever Taiwan-Japan joint product line with Japan's FamilyMart and Tokyo Banana, projected to lift related-category sales by 20%, built on ingredient supply from longtime partner Wei Chuan Foods (味全食品).
Foreign investors net bought NT$45.45 billion of Taiwan shares on August 17, 2026, offsetting a NT$17.75 billion sell-off from local mutual funds. Container shipping and optical-communication CPO stocks each rallied over 6%, while motherboard and notebook shares fell on profit-taking even after Gigabyte posted a record quarterly EPS.
Hu Cheng-chieh is tendering for 50.98%–72.82% of delisted Shinfox Energy at NT$0.05 per share starting August 18, after subsidiary Fuwei Energy's cost overruns on Taipower's offshore wind Phase 2 project produced a FY2025 net loss of NT$15.865 billion and a Q1 2026 net-worth reversal that triggered delisting on June 23.
Everlight Electronics (億光電子) says it has no plant-sale plans beyond its already-divested Tongluo (銅鑼) facility, while a new Thailand plant that broke ground in August 2026 is due to start production in the second half of 2027. Current capacity utilization sits below 70%, and capex through next year — roughly NT$1.5 billion to NT$2 billion — is going mainly to the Thailand site.
Lingchu Optoelectronics (凌巨科技, ticker 8105) says an ownership shake-up cut its board to a single director, blocking approval of its Q2 report; shares halt trading Aug. 19 after an Aug. 17 limit-down close of NT$15.10, and an Aug. 24 shareholder meeting will reelect the board.<CITE:E2><CITE:E1><CITE:E3><CITE:E4>
Twenty Taiwan-listed ETFs go ex-dividend on August 18, 2026<CITE:E1>. Among them, active fund 00982A offers a NT$0.64 per-share payout with an estimated 11% annualized yield<CITE:E2>, while passive fund 00923 raises its per-share distribution to a record NT$3.05<CITE:E4>, and eight passive ETFs top 10% annualized yield<CITE:E11>.
Sunten's board approved a fourth share buyback of 20,000 lots at NT$28–42 per share, capping spending at NT$840 million, with shares earmarked for employees.<CITE:E1><CITE:E11> The move follows a first-half per-share loss of NT$11.24, alongside NT$3.29 billion in net cash inflow and a NT$2.25 dividend set for ex-rights on August 17.<CITE:E3><CITE:E4><CITE:E9>
Berkshire Hathaway's Alphabet stake rose 83% in the second quarter, lifting the position to about 106 million shares worth roughly $37.8 billion and making it Berkshire's third-largest equity holding<CITE:E1>. The conglomerate also bought $23.5 billion in stock while selling $3.7 billion, ending 14 straight quarters of net selling<CITE:E6>.
According to the Central News Agency (CNA), the New Taiwan Dollar (新台幣) paused at NT$32.167 against the US dollar at midday trading on the Taipei foreign exchange market on August 13, 2026, up 7.9 points from the prior session, with turnover reaching US$892 million by midday.
According to Liberty Times (自由時報), Guangju Crystal Electric (光聚晶電, TWSE: 6111) swung to a Q2 2026 net profit of over NT$58 million, EPS NT$0.58, after a Q1 net loss of NT$20 million. First-seven-month revenue hit NT$7.318 billion, up 152.09% year-on-year, and CNYES reported full-year profit is expected to improve further.
Taiwan Mobile (台灣大哥大) announced on August 12, 2026 that its wholly owned subsidiary Taixin Telecom (台信電訊) will tender for at least 39% of Systex Corporation (精誠資訊), pushing total ownership above 50%. According to United Daily News (UDN) and the Central News Agency (CNA), the offer implies about NT$184.5 per Systex share, a premium of roughly 29–29.5%, with total deal value between NT$19.58 billion and NT$29.13 billion.
According to Central News Agency (CNA) and Liberty Times reporting, STARLUX Airlines (星宇航空) posted first-half 2026 revenue of NT$28.553 billion, up 30% year-on-year, but a 124% year-on-year jump in second-quarter jet fuel prices pushed the carrier to an after-tax net loss of about NT$346 million, or NT$0.11 per share. STARLUX also obtained an airport ground-handling service license on August 10.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Sanjay Malhotra said BRICS member countries are discussing linking their fast payment systems with central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), according to reports from TechNews and UDN Money on August 11, 2026. Reuters earlier reported that RBI had recommended adding the CBDC-linking proposal to the 2026 BRICS summit agenda.
According to Technews, also reported by CNA and ETtoday, the US FCC is drafting a measure to ban imports of new Chinese-made optical transceivers, with officials hoping to finalize it this year, though it could still be revised or shelved. The news drove same-day share drops of 7.27% for Innolight (中際旭創) and 5.29% for Eoptolink (新易盛), while Beijing's foreign ministry called the move protectionist.
According to MoneyDJ, Taikang Biotech (台康生技, TWSE: 6589) posted July 2026 revenue of NT$211.799 million (about NT$212 million), up 183.97% year-over-year from NT$74.585 million in July 2025. Cnyes reported the same figure with an 86.93% month-over-month gain, while cumulative January–July revenue reached NT$832.545 million, up 70.91% year-over-year. The company attributed the increase to gradual recognition of self-owned product licensing royalties and growth in its CDMO business.