How to Buy Taiwan Stocks From Abroad: TWSE Shares, TSM and ETFs

Taiwan’s stock market is home to TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker, and to many of its suppliers and customers. From outside Taiwan, there are three ways to own part of it:

1. TWSE shares, held directly on the Taiwan Stock Exchange after registering as a foreign investor.
2. US-listed receipts, such as TSMC’s American depositary shares (ADSs), which trade in New York under the ticker TSM.
3. Funds that hold Taiwanese stocks, listed in the US or in Taiwan.

This guide sets out how each works, using the rules of Taiwan’s regulators and exchange and the filings of the companies and fund sponsors. It describes the routes; it does not say which suits anyone.

Route 1: How do foreigners hold TWSE shares directly?

Taiwan’s regulations call investors outside Taiwan “offshore” foreign investors, individuals or institutions. To hold listed shares, an offshore investor must:

• register with the TWSE, which issues an Investor ID; the exchange says “the completion of registration takes less than 10 minutes”;
• appoint a local agent or representative, who opens accounts and handles the investor’s rights and taxes;
• designate a custodian, a bank or securities firm approved by Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC);
• appoint a tax agent in Taiwan.

In practice an overseas broker or bank that offers Taiwan access usually arranges these steps; which ones do is a matter for each firm. TWSE’s table of investment quotas lists “no limitation” for offshore institutional and individual investors; it says quotas for offshore institutions were removed in July 2003. Some companies have caps on foreign ownership, but TSMC does not: TWSE data for October 22, 2026 show its foreign ownership limit at 100%, with foreign investors holding 68.58% of its shares.

Money moves in New Taiwan dollars (NT$), and Taiwan’s central bank has said that NT$ funds held by foreign portfolio investors “ought not to be parked in NT dollar deposit accounts,” meaning the funds brought in are for investing in securities.

How does trading on the TWSE work?

Item	Rule
Regular session	9:00 to 13:30 Taipei time, with a closing call auction from 13:25
Trading unit	One board lot = 1,000 shares
Odd lots	1 to 999 shares, tradable during the day since October 26, 2020, matched every 5 seconds; also 13:40 to 14:30 after the close
Daily price limit	10% above or below the reference price
Settlement	T+2

Taiwan’s 10% Daily Price Limit explains the limit and other trading rules for foreign investors, and One Chip Day, Four Closes shows how Taipei’s hours line up with Seoul, Tokyo and New York.

Which taxes apply?

• Securities transaction tax: 0.3% for shares under Taiwan’s Securities Transaction Tax Act, with a lower 0.15% rate for day trades through December 31, 2027.
• Dividends: withheld at 21% for non-resident individuals and foreign companies under Taiwan’s withholding standards, unless a tax treaty sets a lower rate.
• Capital gains: Taiwan’s Income Tax Act says income tax on gains from securities transactions has been suspended since January 1, 1990.

Route 2: How do Taiwan’s US-listed ADSs work?

Several Taiwanese companies have receipts listed on the New York Stock Exchange, priced in US dollars and traded on the US clock:

Company	Ticker	Shares per ADS	Depositary
TSMC	TSM	5	Citibank
UMC	UMC	5	JPMorgan Chase Bank
ASE Technology	ASX	2	Citibank
Chunghwa Telecom	CHT	10	JPMorgan Chase Bank

TSMC’s annual report sets out a few rules that differ from holding the shares:

• TSM has been listed on the NYSE since October 8, 1997.
• The depositary may charge up to US$0.05 per ADS to issue or cancel ADSs.
• “Transfers of ADSs are not subject to R.O.C. securities transaction tax.” Dividends are withheld at 21% unless a treaty gives a lower rate.
• New ADSs cannot simply be created by depositing shares bought in Taipei without FSC approval, except in limited cases, so the supply of ADSs is limited. A holder who converts ADSs back into shares must register with the TWSE and appoint a local agent and custodian.

That limit on new ADSs is one reason TSM can trade above the Taipei price; TSM vs 2330 covers the premium, and What Is an ADR? explains receipts in general.

Route 3: Which funds hold Taiwanese stocks?

Funds give exposure to many Taiwanese companies at once. The share of TSMC differs a lot between them, because their indexes cap large weights differently:

Fund	Where it trades	Index	TSMC weight	Stated expenses
iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (EWT)	NYSE Arca	MSCI Taiwan 25/50	21.89% (Sep 30, 2026)	0.59%
Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF (FLTW)	NYSE Arca	FTSE Taiwan RIC Capped	19.70% (Sep 30, 2026)	0.19%
Yuanta/P-shares Taiwan Top 50 (0050)	Taiwan Stock Exchange	FTSE TWSE Taiwan 50	57% (Oct 22, 2026)	—

EWT held 76 stocks and FLTW 141 on September 30, 2026, according to their fact sheets. The 0050 fund, which tracks the 50 largest listed companies, is listed in Taipei, so a foreign investor needs the TWSE registration described above to hold it. It split its units four for one in June 2025: TWSE closing prices show NT$188.65 on June 10, 2025 and NT$47.57 on June 18, with no trading in between.

How do the three routes compare?

	TWSE shares	US-listed ADSs	US-listed ETFs
Currency	NT$	US$	US$
Hours	Taipei, 9:00 to 13:30	New York regular session	New York regular session
Setup	TWSE registration, local agent, custodian, tax agent	A US brokerage account	A US brokerage account
What you hold	Shares	Receipts for shares	Units of a fund holding many stocks
Extra costs named in filings	Securities transaction tax	Depositary fees	Fund expenses

For how the Taiwanese market moves with TSMC, see Why TSMC Moves the TAIEX; the Taiwan map shows the Taiwanese chip stocks day by day.