Descobrindo o poder misterioso do Oriente? Bloomberg entrevista Bà Nì Nì: realmente não consegue resistir a pegar emprestado 5 milhões por FOMO no mercado de ações de Taiwan, toda a Taiwan enlouquece pegando dinheiro emprestado para investir na bolsa

Bloomberg latest report reveals: Taiwan is staging a nationwide frenzy of borrowing to speculate on stocks. Driven by the AI chip boom, the Taiwan stock market has risen over 100% in the past year, climbing to the fifth largest stock market in the world. Margin debt has surged 160% in a year, approaching the historic high before the 2000 internet bubble.
（Background summary: TSMC pushes CoPoS packaging materials to mass production in 2028! TrendForce: Taiwanese panel manufacturers compete for FOPLP glass substrate opportunities）
（Additional background: Will the token subsidy war fade out? Google Ventures founder warns: If AI prices drop, business models will collapse entirely）

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• Taiwan stocks double in a year, fifth largest market value globally
• Internet celebrity Banini also breaks years-long abstinence
• Default amounts hit record highs, brokerages quietly start to slow down
• Scholars warn of bubble, but retail investors say "this time is different"

Bloomberg today published a recent report revealing the glory and risks of the massive retail borrowing and leverage frenzy amid Taiwan’s stock market madness. An interviewee, 26-year-old Zheng, said he just lost his job and holds borrowed funds to buy Taiwanese tech stocks worth about $60,000. That day, the Taiwan stock index fell 3.5%, but he was unbothered, instead eyes shining, saying: "Any stock I buy will make money."… This scene is a microcosm of the current Taiwan stock market frenzy.

Taiwan stocks double in a year, fifth largest market value globally

Bloomberg pointed out that the AI boom has swept through multiple global stock markets—South Korea, China, the US—and Taiwan, the world’s largest producer of advanced chips, is no exception. You’ve probably seen many people sharing on social media recently, with some planning to resign and go all-in on stocks.

In the past year, the Taiwan Weighted Index increased by over 100%, with market capitalization surpassing the UK, Canada, and India within just a few weeks, rising to the fifth largest globally. Teenagers are opening accounts eagerly, and trading volume once surged so much that broker websites crashed. Behind all this, there is a common fuel: borrowing money.

Bloomberg reports that the margin debt of Taiwanese investors borrowing from brokerages to buy stocks has exploded by 160% over the past 12 months, nearing the historic high before the 2000 internet bubble burst. In comparison, the last 12 months of the bubble’s final phase saw only a 50% increase; even South Korea, with its hot AI theme, recently increased by only 94%. Taiwan’s leverage madness has reached a new level.

The borrowing craze has spread so widely that it even affects government bond auctions. On June 3, a bond auction failed due to insufficient buyers, marking the first time in Taiwan’s history.

Internet celebrity Banini also breaks years-long abstinence

In this Bloomberg interview, surprisingly, the anti-indicator goddess Banini also shared her comments. She said that in May this year, she broke her vow and her principle of not leveraging.

“FOMO really defeated me,” Banini said. She watched Taiwan stocks soar day by day, her friends earning much more than her, and ultimately she succumbed to temptation, borrowing 5 million New Taiwan Dollars to enter the market. “Rather than letting the opportunity slip away, I’d rather chase it,” she convinced herself.

Banini is a popular financial content creator with a large fan base. Her breaking her vow also hints at a collective psychological breakdown: When cautious people start borrowing to chase gains, how much rationality is left in this frenzy?

Default amounts hit record highs, brokerages quietly start to slow down

Beneath this frenzy, cracks may have already appeared quietly. Bloomberg reports that in June, Taiwanese investors’ default amounts from stock trading exceeded NT$2 billion, more than doubling month-over-month, and hitting the highest monthly record since 2019.

To cope with the crazy borrowing demand, Taiwanese brokerages have also started to raise capital aggressively. Bloomberg data shows that this year, brokerages issued nearly $1.2 billion in bonds, more than seven times the total for 2025; some firms have even turned to syndicated loans and other non-traditional financing channels, with unprecedented transaction speeds this year.

Some brokerages have begun to tighten controls quietly. Industry insiders reveal that margin interest rates have been raised by over 0.2 percentage points, and for loans secured by stocks and ETFs with no specified用途, interest rate hikes even reach 1 percentage point. In an environment where the central bank’s benchmark rate is only 2%, this increase is significant.

KGI Securities (Taiwan’s second-largest local broker) said it continues to monitor margin trading and recently lowered leverage ratios for some stocks, then adjusted them back; Fubon Securities (third largest) adjusted margin interest rates and collateral ratios for some stocks; E.SUN Securities (fourth largest) reviews overall capital positions daily; Cathay Securities (fifth largest) set limits on unsecured loans for certain high-risk stocks. Yuanta Securities (largest) declined to comment.

Scholars warn of bubble, but retail investors say "this time is different"

Professor Wu Daren from National Central University’s Department of Economics bluntly said: “Taiwan’s stock market is obviously overheated.” He worries that if a rapid, large-scale sell-off occurs, young investors who see stocks as an “easy way to get rich” could suffer “catastrophic losses.” He urges the government to take concrete measures to cool the market and prevent the bubble from inflating further.

AEPAC’s chief economist, Acia Garcia, warns from a macro perspective: “If the AI momentum wanes, the impact won’t stop at the stock market. Brokerages will face pressure, household consumption will shrink, and exports will drag down overall growth.”

However, unemployed youth Zheng dismisses these warnings. He has studied the history of the 1990s internet bubble but believes this time is fundamentally different: “This time, there is real support.” His logic is that TSMC and the entire chip supply chain’s global monopoly status, with Taiwan producing 90% of the world’s most advanced chips, and the explosive demand for AI data centers shows no signs of stopping.

His friend, 25-year-old law student Chen, also agrees: “Tech stocks account for about 20% of Taiwan’s GDP and make up 80% of the Taiwan stock index’s weight. The fundamentals are so strong that even if it drops for a month, there’s no need to fear. Taiwan is great.”

As the whole island keeps saying “this time is different,” what will the future hold? Let’s keep watching.