Foreign-exchange reserves total record US$548.41bn

• By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Taiwan’s foreign-exchange reserves last month rose by US$1.08 billion to a record US$548.41 billion, as major reserve currencies appreciated against the US dollar and management of foreign-exchange reserves generated some gains, the central bank said yesterday.

The reserves increased for a fifth consecutive month, meaning that Taiwan remained the world’s fifth-largest holder of foreign reserves after China, Japan, Switzerland and India, the central bank said.

The New Taiwan dollar rose 0.36 percent against the US dollar last month, while the British pound, euro and Chinese yuan gained 1.25 percent, 0.35 percent and 0.11 percent respectively, Department of Foreign Exchange Director-General Eugene Tsai (蔡炯民) said.

Photo: CNA

Supply and demand remained fairly balanced, with foreign portfolio managers wiring abroad gains valued at US$4.09 billion, Tsai said.

Local shares, debts and local currency deposits held by foreign investors last month totaled US$754.5 billion, an increase of 7 percentage points, or US$36.3 billion, from November, Tsai said.

The balance constituted 138 percent of the nation’s foreign-exchange reserves — an acceptable range, he said, adding that the ratio in South Korea is about 200 percent.

Last year, foreign-exchange reserves increased US$18.5 billion, down from an increase of US$51.79 billion in 2020, Tsai said.

The difference was due to better supply and demand last year, Tsai said.

The US$51.79 billion increase in foreign-exchange reserves in 2020 was the highest since the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, central bank data showed.