Survey reveals differences in investment styles around Taiwan

August 15, 2005

There is a common saying in Taiwan to the effect that Taipei is Taipei and Taiwan is Taiwan. This saying speaks to the general perception that Taipei rates as more cosmopolitan while other areas are relatively more provincial. According to a survey conducted by JP Morgan Fleming Taiwan, it turns out that there are also certain differences in the investment styles of investors around Taiwan.

For one, the survey shows that a higher percentage of investors in Eastern Taiwan has invested over NTD 1 million than has in Northern Taiwan. Over the last year, 34% of investors on Taiwan's east coast held investments of over NTD 1 million and 6% had over NTD 10 million in investments. In contrast, only 21% of investors in the north had invested over NTD 1 million while just 2.7% put over NTD 10 million in investments.

An analyst at JP Morgan Fleming Taiwan points out that because investors are relatively younger and populations are higher in Northern and Central Taiwan the average investment values in these regions are lower. On the other hand, Eastern Taiwan's investors tend to be older and have larger savings from which to invest.

Although stocks are the favored investment target of all Taiwanese investors, Northern Taiwan's investors are especially drawn to the stock market, investors in Southern Taiwan are more interested than others in investment-oriented insurance products, and those in Eastern Taiwan show a greater preference for life insurance policies. Central Taiwan's investors tend to be almost as fond of stocks as those in the North.

The analyst says that investors in Northern Taiwan have greater access to financial information and their relative youth makes them more able to take on risk. Therefore, these investors are more likely to focus on the stock market because returns on stock investments can be higher than those from other forms of investment. The relatively older age of investors in Eastern Taiwan explains their preference for investing in life insurance.

Larger investors in Eastern Taiwan generally consider their investment style to be conservative. Those in Northern Taiwan see themselves as solid investors while those in the South say they are more aggressive when it comes to their investments.

The survey shows that investors in Eastern Taiwan have the lowest expectations regarding investment returns, while those in the North were the most optimistic. Investors in Central and Southern Taiwan had more moderate expectations.

(United Daily News)

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