TSMC Shares Reach Record High Following Taiwan Regulatory Shift

Shares of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) climbed 5% to a new all-time high on Friday, driven by a significant regulatory shift in Taiwan. The island's regulator announced plans to loosen limits on how much domestic equity funds and actively managed ETFs can allocate to single stocks. Under the new framework, funds focused exclusively on Taiwanese stocks may now allocate up to 25% of their assets to any listed firm with a weighting above 10% on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. This represents a substantial increase from the previous long-standing rule, which capped single-company allocations at 10% of a portfolio's net asset value. The regulatory news coincides with a period of exceptional financial performance for the chipmaker. TSMC recently reported a 58% increase in first-quarter profit, with net income reaching 572.48 billion new Taiwanese dollars for the period ending in March. This result marks the company's fourth consecutive quarter of record profits. Growth is being propelled by the global expansion of artificial intelligence, which has intensified demand for cutting-edge semiconductors. As Asia's most valuable technology firm, TSMC continues to see robust orders from major clients, including Apple and its largest customer, Nvidia, for advanced AI processors. Market analysts view the regulatory easing as a catalyst for increased liquidity and capital inflow into TSMC, further cementing its position as the dominant force in the global contract chipmaking industry.