Dive Brief:
- Taiwan's new president-elect, Democratic Progressive Party member Tsai Ing-wen, has expressed an interest in focusing on biotechnology, green tech, smart machinery, the Internet of Things, and national defense.
- After her election, the biotech index in Taiwan jumped by 3.9%.
- Two companies in particular benefited from the presidential bump: Johnson Health Tech Co. and Phytohealth Corp. were up more than 7%.
Dive Insight:
The election of Tsai Ing-wen has been viewed as a suprising rebuke to Taiwan's ruling KMT Party, and Ing-wen has presented herself as a forward-looking president focused on growing the economy. Furthermore, her running mate, Chen Chien-jen, is a researcher focused on epidemiology and genomics.
The benchmark index for biotechnology and medical care companies added 0.6% after the election, sparking interest among hedge funds and mutual funds—and overcoming the larger slump in the Asian markets.