How Taiwan's AI stock boom has ordinary people borrowing to invest

Taiwan is in the grip of a borrowing frenzy — but not for houses or cars. This year, people are taking out loans to buy stocks.

As Taiwan's stock market soared this year, real-estate worker Lucas Chen borrowed NT$5 million (€136,000) to buy tech shares, and within six months he had quadrupled his money.

Chen is one of a growing number of people using debt to buy into the island's stock market, which soared 59% in the first half of the year thanks to booming demand for AI hardware made by chip giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) and others.

But while the prospect of vast returns has lured and repaid many handsomely, others have suffered hefty losses or been tricked by scammers, prompting authorities to issue warnings about the risks.

"The first half of the year was really crazy. It was absolutely wild," said Chen, who makes a base salary of up to NT$50,000 (about €1,360) from his job.

The 34-year-old began trading in the stock market 10 years ago, saving up his bonuses to buy chip titan TSMC, which accounted for about 45% of the Taiwan Stock Exchange at the end of 2025.

At the start of this year, Chen saw "a good opportunity" to increase his investments and took out three bank loans worth NT$5 million, using his new Tesla as collateral for two of them.

The bet paid off.

Chen's tech investments, half of them in TSMC, surged nearly 70%, pumping up his holdings by about NT$20 million (€544,000) by late June.

"The older generation would say borrowing money isn't a good thing," Chen told AFP, adding that if you did the maths carefully, the risks were "controllable".

Financial influencer Yeh Yu-shuo has enjoyed the fruits of the market but has also seen the downside of the stock-buying frenzy in his Facebook group, where hundreds of thousands of members trade investment advice.

"I've reviewed posts saying they want to jump off a building," Yeh said.

One anonymous poster said in early August he had invested NT$10 million (about €272,000), including a NT$6 million (about €163,000) mortgage, in recent months and had lost nearly half of it.

"Since last month I've been waking up in the middle of the night in a panic," the poster said.

"I've already sought treatment from a psychiatrist, and I even went to Zinan Temple, but none of it has helped at all. Right now, all I want is to get my money back as quickly as possible."

'Buying stocks like crazy'

Global stock markets have surged this year to record highs as tech firms ramped up spending on AI data centres, hardware and software.

However, the rally hit a wall in July, hammering the tech sector on concerns over when that cash will see a return and warnings that company valuations had gone too far.

Anticipation of a US interest rate hike has also weighed on sentiment and could curb demand for stocks, particularly tech firms, which rely on borrowing to fuel their investments.

While some people in Taiwan have used their savings or borrowed from family to invest, many have relied on banks or brokers to fund their stock purchases.

Norman Yin, a professor of money and banking at National Chengchi University, said young people have been "buying stocks like crazy".

Taiwanese banks are sitting on "unprecedented" levels of deposits, partly due to stagnant property prices, and are very willing to lend.

"If I borrow money from a bank to buy stocks, I could make more in one day than I earn from my salary in a month," Yin said, noting fresh graduates often made around NT$40,000 (about €1,090) per month.

"It's faster and easier than sitting in an office and working hard."

Meanwhile, margin trading — in which investors use funds borrowed from a broker to buy securities — rose nearly 20% in the first half from the previous six months, Taiwan Stock Exchange data show.

Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission told AFP that overall "credit risk remains under control".

The stock exchange has started publishing videos on social media warning young investors of the risks of defaulting on their loans.

'Windfall for our generation'

Social media platforms in Taiwan are rife with posts about people making huge sums and quitting their jobs to trade full time.

Marketing specialist Jerry Lee, 30, said he has watched with some envy as friends post about their gains in their group chat.

"When you see someone make two or three months' salary in two days, oof, that's really painful," said Lee, who describes himself as a conservative investor.

Social media gives the impression that "everyone is making money," he said.

"When it's dropping they won't tell you about it."

Taiwan's stock index fell about 16% from its record high on 22 June to 30 July, while South Korea's market — the poster child of the global tech-led surge this year — plunged about 40%.

Still, Yeh said he had confidence in Taiwan's stock market "as long as TSMC remains stable". The Taiex has recovered almost all the losses sustained in the summer sell-off.

Chen said the opportunity to make money would keep him investing.

"This is a windfall for our generation," he said.