Taiwan stocks hit seven-year high

Taiwan stocks rose 1.43 percent to a 7-year closing high on Monday as an announcement by the front-runner of the island's next presidential election sparked hopes of an improving economic outlook.
The main TAIEX share index jumped 126.28 points to 8,939.19 in an across-the-board rally, extending gains from last week when the index hit its highest close since 2000. The banking and insurance sub-index climbed 1.61 percent and the electronics sub-index rose 0.92 percent.
Turnover was active at T$184.3 billion (US $5.6 billion). "It is obvious that Ma Ying-jeou will focus his campaign on the economy," said Sheng Yen, who manages T$2 billion for Franklin Templeton First Taiwan.
"That is positive for the stock market and also for the island's economic growth," which has lagged its regional peers in part due to concern that Taiwan-China ties would sour as the ruling party is widely seen leaning towards independence from Beijing.
Concerns over cross-strait ties have pulled the Taiwan market to one of the cheapest levels in Asia, offering attractive valuations. "Taiwan is a value play - relative to the region. Taiwan valuations have hit levels only seen in crisis periods," Citigroup said in a research report published on Monday.
Citigroup raised its weightings in PC vendor Acer, contract chip maker TSMC, Formosa Plastic and Far Eastone Textile, according to the report. Ma Ying-jeou, the main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Party's presidential candidate, chose former premier and economic expert Vincent Siew as his running mate.
Chip packaging shares were up after local media reported the economics ministry had given the go-ahead for chip packaging firms to build factories in China.
Industry leader Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc jumped 1.48 percent. Smaller rivals Walton rose 5.09 percent and Greatek gained 3.39 percent.
Fu Sheng Industrial, the world's top golf club maker, closed unchanged after slipping 0.94 percent during the session. US buyout firm Oaktree Investment, which said in May that it would buy the Taiwan firm in a deal worth about T$28.3 billion, said on Monday that it extended a deadline to buy Fu Sheng stocks by one month to July 27. The extension was due to a delay in Taiwan regulatory approval, local media said.