Gov't labor funds' losses narrow in July

Of the funds, the Labor Insurance Fund had an investment yield of -0.52 percent in July, smaller than the loss of over NT$10 billion in June.

The Labor Pension Fund had an investment yield of -1.33 percent in July, with its loss narrowing by NT$25.5 billion from June.

The pension fund is divided into the old fund and the new fund. The new fund had an investment loss of NT$7.55 billion in July, or a yield of -1.49 percent. The old fund had an investment loss of NT$5.92 billion during the month, or a yield of -1.17 percent.

U.S. firms reported brilliant second-quarter results in July and caused stock rallies across the globe. MSCI's world index rose 8.02 percent, while Taiwan's weighted index TAIEX rose 5.88 percent.

For the first half, the MSCI world index lost 10 percent, leading to sizable investment losses for both labor funds.

The Labor Insurance Fund had an investment loss of NT$11.26 billion or a yield of -3.67 percent during the first six months, while the Labor Pension Fund lost NT$38.9 billion in stocks, a yield of -3.88 percent.

At the same time, the funds' operating committee has released the holdings of the Labor Pension Fund during the first half.

In total, the fund invested most of its amount, about 8.49 percent, in Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the world's largest contract electronics manufacturer.

For the new fund, it invested most of its money in Hon Hai, followed by Synnex and Cheng Shin Tire. The latter two did not even make the top ten list at the end of last year.

The new fund has meanwhile reduced its holdings in AU Optronics, one of the world's leading flat panel manufacturers, and MediaTek, a leading semiconductor designer.

For the old fund, it invested most of its money in Polaris 50, an exchange-traded fund, followed by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Hon Hai.

Chunghwa Telecom and Delta Electronics Inc. took the No. 4 and No. 5 places. Acer, which was out of the top ten, has become No. 7 during the first half.

The operating committee has also listed six stocks that the old fund has sold. They were AsusTek, Everlight Electronics Co., HTC, Evergreen, First Financial, and Taiwan Mobile.

“We sold these shares to make a profit,” the committee said. “Selling them does not in any way mean we have a pessimistic outlook for them.”

The Labor Pension Fund is now sized at NT$1.069 trillion, which is split about 50-50 between the old and new funds. The new fund has about NT$156.3 billion in stocks, while the old fund has NT$131.3 billion.

The funds' operating committee is required to release how the money is invested every six months, at the request of legislators.

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