Is Taiwan officially catching up to and overtaking the U.S. and the U.K.? Taiwan’s stock market capitalization surges to 4.14 trillion, surpassing the U.K., and jumps to become the world’s seventh-largest market.

Benefiting from AI demand and foreign capital inflows, the Taiwan stock market’s market capitalization has reached $4.14 trillion, surpassing the UK to become the seventh-largest in the world. TSMC is expected to grow revenue by over 30% this year and plans to expand its wafer factories to meet strong capacity demands.

Taiwan’s Market Cap Surpasses the UK, AI Export Growth Expectations

Because Taiwan is positioned as a key player in the AI market, the Taiwan stock market has achieved a historic record. Bloomberg reports that as of April 15 U.S. time, Taiwan’s market capitalization rose to $4.14 trillion, surpassing the UK stock market’s $4.09 trillion, climbing to the seventh-largest market globally.

After the US-Iran war, Taiwan’s stock market quickly recovered from the declines caused by the conflict and became one of the first major markets to hit new all-time highs. TSMC, which accounts for over 40% of Taiwan’s market cap, also hit new highs in its stock price.

According to the International Monetary Fund’s 2026 forecast, Taiwan’s economy, valued at $977 billion, lags behind the UK’s $4.3 trillion, but exports of related products are significantly boosting Taiwan’s economic growth prospects.

Meanwhile, the UK stock market structure is changing. Goldman Sachs strategist Sharon Bell states that currently, domestic UK investors have insufficient participation and tend to favor low-risk assets, resulting in as much as 68% of UK stocks being held by overseas investors, compared to only 17% in 1994.

Foreign Capital Flows Back Strongly, TSMC’s Position Remains Steady

Fintech service provider Yoon Ng, head of the Asia-Pacific region, said, Taiwan continues to be seen as a representative of AI hardware, and as long as capital expenditure momentum persists, capital flows will continue to support this trend.

The Taiwan Weighted Index has risen 16% this month, and over the past year, it has increased by more than 90%, marking the longest consecutive eight-month rally since 2025.

Source: Google Taiwan Weighted Index has risen 16% this month, and over the past year, it has increased by more than 90%.

Additionally, foreign investors net bought $8.9 billion worth of Taiwan stocks in April. After a record outflow of $28.7 billion in March, Taiwan’s market is heading toward its largest single-month capital inflow.

TSMC Projects 30% Annual Revenue Growth, Won’t Underestimate Musk’s Chip Factory

The record highs in Taiwan stocks are closely linked to TSMC’s operations. According to Yahoo Finance, Chairman Wei Zhejia emphasized at the TSMC earnings call that strong AI demand is expected to drive revenue growth of over 30% in USD terms for 2026.

In Q1 2026, gross margin reached 66.2%, with a slight increase to 66.5% in Q2, but future challenges include 2nm mass production, overseas expansion, and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

TSMC estimates that supply tightness will continue into 2027, prompting plans to build three new wafer fabs. Capital expenditure in 2026 is projected to be between $52 billion and $56 billion, mainly for 3nm capacity expansion.

In response to Elon Musk’s intention to build his own wafer factory, TeraFab, Wei Zhejia said they do not underestimate competitors, but foundry work has no shortcuts, and ramping capacity takes 1 to 2 years; regarding the Middle East conflict, TSMC has established a diversified gas supply system and ensured sufficient liquefied natural gas, so they assess that short-term operations are unaffected.