Singapore’s exports surge, Taiwan’s chip giant breaks records — a fresh 2026 AI boom is reshaping APAC stocks markets
After months of some caution for tech investors and lull for growth stocks, artificial intelligence is once again the most electrifying force in global markets. Asia is feeling the charge most acutely and in the most welcoming way.
The AI trade had cooled a little through late 2025 and early 2026 amid concerns about overvaluation of this technology, tightening liquidity, and geopolitical headwinds. However, now it seems to be staging a vigorous comeback. What reignited it? So many factors united yto make it possible: renewed capital flows into AI infrastructure, resilient corporate earnings from major chipmakers, and growing enterprise adoption of AI tools across manufacturing, logistics, and financial services. Investors who had stepped back are now rushing back in.
Nowhere is this resurgence more tangible across APAC than in Singapore’s trade data. The city-state’s non-oil domestic exports (NODX) jumped 15.3 per cent in March, driven by a robust uptick in electronics shipments, according to figures released by Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG) on Friday, April 17. The figures underscore how AI-related demand has filtered down from hyperscaler investment decisions all the way to physical supply chains — circuit boards, semiconductors, and server components moving out of Asian factories at a pace not seen in over a year.
Taiwan, meanwhile, is experiencing something close to a market renaissance. Its stock exchange has overtaken the United Kingdom’s in total market capitalisation, securing its place as the world’s seventh-largest equity market. That milestone is almost entirely a TSMC story. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company — the world’s dominant chipmaker and a critical supplier to Nvidia, has climbed to record highs this week, fully erasing losses accumulated since the outbreak of the Iran war earlier this year.
What is particularly striking about TSMC’s rally is who is driving it. Retail investors, once a marginal force in TSMC’s shareholder base, are now a measurable and growing constituency. A surge of individual buying has amplified the stock’s momentum, even as institutional investors remain the dominant holders. Their enthusiasm reflects a broader sentiment: that the AI infrastructure build-out is not merely a speculative story, but a structural, multi-year reality.
All eyes that turned to TSMC’s earnings, arrived this Thursday, have gotten their reality check. TSMC reported Q1 net income of approximately $18.16 billion — a 58% increase year-on-year, surpassing analyst estimates and marking another quarterly record. Advanced chips accounted for around 75% of total wafer revenue, and the company forecast full-year 2026 revenue growth of more than 30%. On the earnings call, CEO C.C. Wei characterised AI chip demand as “extremely robust” and expressed enduring confidence in what he called “the multi-year AI megatrend.”
For Asian economies historically reliant on export cycles, the message is encouraging. And for global traders questioning whether this rally was built on fundamentals or froth, the numbers offered a clear answer: the AI boom rebound is very much grounded in real demand.
