Taiwan’s Capital Market Is Accessible: Listing Gets Easier, Attracting Investors Gets Harder

Originally published 2025-09-06Robin’s commentary, using data from the end of August 2025

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Collected in Robin Shen’s Field Notes · Content type and attribution are shown above

English translation of the Chinese post originally published 2025-09-06. Translated 2026-11-05 with AI assistance. Historical figures and claims have not been updated or independently verified. 中文原文

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Robin counts 2,243 companies on Taiwan’s main board, Taipei Exchange, and Emerging Stock Board as of August 31, 2025: 1,032, 855, and 356 respectively. That is roughly one for every 10,404 residents, potentially falling to one per 10,000 by year-end. He argues that becoming a Taipei Exchange-listed company is increasingly attainable: annual after-tax net profit of 30–50 million is around the middle range. The harder challenge is attracting sustained investor attention and investment after listing, with over 2,000 companies to choose from and alternatives including US stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Key points

Taiwan has 2,243 companies across its main board, Taipei Exchange, and Emerging Stock Board.
Listing is becoming easier; attracting investor attention is harder.
Investors’ choices extend to US stocks and cryptocurrencies.

Columns and beams in an open building are connected by central rods and balanced weights, suggesting structure and checks in governance. — Capital markets & governanceThematic illustration · AI generated

Full text — English translation

Taiwan’s capital market is relatively accessible. Set valuations aside and consider company numbers alone. Excluding companies that are merely public issuers, there were 2,243 main-board, Taipei Exchange, and Emerging Stock Board companies as of August 31, 2025. Taiwan’s population was 23,337,936 in July 2025. That is one listed or emerging-stock company for every 10,404 people. As company numbers rise by around 60–80 annually and the population keeps falling, the ratio should reach one per 10,000 by the end of this year. Main-board companies: 1,032 Taipei Exchange companies: 855 Emerging Stock Board companies: 356 Total: 2,243 An annual after-tax net profit of 30–50 million places a company around the middle range for Taiwan’s Taipei Exchange. Becoming the owner of a listed company is getting easier. What is increasingly difficult is attracting investors’ attention and giving them a reason to follow the company over time or invest after listing. They already have over 2,000 companies to choose from, and many now also consider US stocks and cryptocurrencies.

These articles are personal notes, book excerpts, and collected reprints. Figures and events reflect the time of the original publication, are not current information, and do not constitute investment advice.

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