Ma Vote Seen Boosting Taiwan Markets as Baer May Upgrade

The re-election of Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, a booster of closer ties with China, is bullish for the island’s financial markets, according to Bank Julius Baer & Co., Citigroup Inc. and Uni-President Assets Management Corp.

Julius Baer, which oversees about $205 billion in assets, is re-evaluating its “underweight” rating on Taiwanese equities and may buy airlines and hotel stocks, Lee Boon Keng, head of the firm’s investment solutions group in Singapore, said by phone yesterday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Taiwan’s shares to “neutral” from “underweight.” Two-year bonds may rally as overseas investors buy Taiwan dollar assets, said Samson Tu, a Taipei-based fund manager at Uni-President.