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.
