Schive made the remarks during a forum yesterday targeting specifically heads of the island’s publicly traded firms.

According to Schive, a total of 12 foreign firms have come to Taiwan for primary listing this year, while nine have been approved to issue Taiwan depository receipts.

Meanwhile, 41 overseas firms are currently being instructed on getting listed in Taiwan, Schive said, adding next year more Japanese firms are expected to list on the island.

Taiwan’s trade environment appeals to European enterprises, too, he said. “Even banks based in France have made inquiries about listing in Taiwan,” he revealed.

Commenting on the fact that most companies that had initial public offering this year have generally suffered a price decline, Schive attributed it to the overall negative business environment.

Yet the total number of IPOs this year exceeded those of last year, and “this makes the TSE stand out among our peers in the world,” he said.

At the same time, TSE is also considering opening itself to state-run firms whose operations are similar to those of private firms, he said.

These state-run firms include Taiwan Power Co., CPC Corp., Taiwan Railway Administration, as well as airports that operate like companies, he said.

“As these state-run firms have large sizes and scale, they are expected to inject new blood into the stock exchange,” Schive said.

Commenting on the recent poor performance of Taiwan stocks, Schive said the TAIEX is expected to hit the bottom in the first quarter of 2012. Yet a rebound will be seen over the next four quarters, he said.