Taiwan plays a critical role in the AI chip revolution and the global semiconductor industry, the chief executive of the Taiwan Stock Exchange told CNBC in an exclusive interview.

Sherman Lin, chairman and CEO of Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation attributed the strong gains on the Taiwan Weighted Index to “the AI revolution.”

“It is just because [of] the high demand of the high-end chip, and also the server supply chain. That’s why our stock market is going up,” he said.

The Taiex has risen 27.93% in the last 12 months, but gave up some gains on Friday after most major markets in the region sank amid rising Middle East tensions.

Much of Taiwan’s dominance in the global semiconductor industry can be attributed to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world’s largest contract chipmaker that produces advanced processors for clients like Apple and Nvidia. TSMC is the main manufacturer of Nvidia’s powerful AI processors.

“I think this is a lot of attraction for investors … So it means, actually, Taiwan plays [a] very crucial role in AI supply chain and also the semiconductor industry,” said Lin.

In 2023, Taiwan led advanced chip manufacturing technology, including 16- or 14-nanometer and more advanced processes, with 68% global capacity share, according to TrendForce data. This was followed by the U.S. (12%), South Korea (11%), and China (8%), the data showed.

Taiwan also held nearly 80% market share in extreme ultraviolet generation processes, such as 7-nanometer and more advanced technology, said TrendForce. The smaller the nanometer size, the more powerful the chip is. EUV tools are critical in the production of the world’s most advanced processors.

“We have very good fundamentals of ICT industries. So we can have the strength to facilitate, leveraging the success of the ICT and technology industries, new economy business,” said Lin.

Earlier this month, Taiwan was hit by its strongest earthquake in 25 years. TSMC said construction sites were normal upon initial inspection, though workers from some fabs were briefly evacuated. Those workers subsequently returned to their workplaces.

“Taiwan shows very good resilience … I understand that some listed companies that report to the TWSE – they had very little impact on their productions,” said Lin.

“The kind of the challenge for Taiwan is the testing for our business continuity plan. We actually did quite well. And we refreshed, we responded really quickly. So you can see in the capital market, you can see the adjusted rebound quite soon,” said Lin.

“Right now, it’s still in the uptrend in the capital market after the earthquake.”

On the outcome of the U.S. elections and military conflicts, Lin said such situations “will always affect some capital markets” as well as the Taiwan market.

“But [as] you can see, it will go back to the fundamentals. So I think Taiwan has good fundamentals, [has] resilience and [responds] quickly. I am pretty confident about our capital markets,” said Lin.

A top Dutch government minister said he’s confident the country’s coveted chip-equipment maker ASML will remain in the Netherlands following threats from the company to move its operations abroad.

Steven van Weyenberg, the Netherlands’ finance minister, told CNBC’s Karen Tso on Thursday that he isn’t worried by ASML’s statements threatening to leave the country. The company has since walked back the comments.

In a January call with investors, ASML CEO Peter Wennink said: “The consequences of limiting labor migration are large, we need those people to innovate. If we can’t get those people here, we will go somewhere where we can grow.”

His comments followed controversial plans by the Dutch to scale back tax breaks for highly skilled migrants and limit the number of foreigners who can attend Dutch universities.

ASML is core to the world’s semiconductor supply chain. The company makes extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUV) machines, which are critical to the semiconductor industry for manufacturing integrated circuits.

EUV machines generate an incredibly short wavelength of light in large quantities to print small, complex designs on microchips. The EUV light is created with tiny explosions of molten tin happening at extreme speeds and then bounced off mirrors that ASML says are the flattest surfaces in the world.

“I think many people, many countries would love to welcome ASML, but I think they’re strongly embedded in the Netherlands,” Van Weyenberg told CNBC Thursday.

The minster said he had been involved in discussions between the cabinet and ASML last month concerning the firm’s plans to grow in the Netherlands and whether there were enough roads, houses and skilled people from abroad to foster that growth.

“I’m very optimistic about ASML’s future and that it will be within the Netherlands,” he said.

The Dutch government last month launched a campaign dubbed “Operation Beethoven” in an attempt to address ASML’s concerns and convince them to stay in the Netherlands, Reuters reported.

The semiconductor-equipment maker has since ruled out a complete departure from the Netherlands, but the company remains unhappy with its home country’s approach to fostering growth.

“There is a considerable gap between the concerns of industry, and what we think is necessary, and what politicians think,” ASML CEO Peter Wennink told reporters after a meeting with the Dutch government in March, according to Reuters. If ASML can’t grow in the Netherlands “it can do so elsewhere”, he reportedly said.

Though the Dutch are still working to appoint a new government, plans previously approved by Parliament to cap the number of foreign students and scrap the skilled-migrant tax break have upset several businesses in the country, including ASML and Dutch chipmaker NXP.

More than 40% of ASML’s 23,000-strong workforce in the Netherlands are not Dutch.

The Netherlands has previously seen some of its multinational firms ditch its shores for greener pastures. In 2021, for example, oil major Shell decided to move its corporate headquarters and tax base to London from Amsterdam.

Meanwhile, Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch consumer goods firm, in 2020 moved forward with a plan to unify its headquarters in London, ending a hybrid structure that saw the firm dual-headquartered in both the U.K. and the Netherlands.

Britain’s high-growth technology firms have gripes of their own, however, in terms of how the government is encouraging foreign investment into tech startups, as well as the hiring of foreign labor following the country’s Brexit vote.

ASML has also been caught up in geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China. In January, the company was barred by the Dutch government from exporting some of its tools to China.

The trade block was imposed after the U.S. government tightened export controls on advanced semiconductors and chipmaking tools to China in October, building on previous rules.

Van Weyenberg said the Dutch government was cooperating with ASML and the U.S. on chip export controls on China.

“ASML is one of the crown jewels of the Dutch economy,” Van Weyenberg said. “They are really one of the basis of our growth model.”

“We want to support them, we actually help them to grow in the Netherlands. And I think there is a great future for them ahead also complying with all the rules that are on the playing table,” he added.

But he also warned that global fragmentation caused by fractures in the world economy puts a small and open economy like the Netherlands at risk.

He added that from a security risk perspective, “we have to also look at China and make sure they play by the same rules.”

Apple on Friday said it pulled several messaging apps like Meta‘s WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store in China after the nation’s government ordered the removal, citing security concerns.

The move further escalates tensions between the U.S. and China over technology and other policies. In recent days, Congress has been looking to fast-track legislation to push TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to divest the social media app. The House could vote on a new bill as soon as Saturday, and U.S. President Joe Biden has said he will sign it into law if it reaches his desk.

“We are obligated to follow the laws in the countries where we operate, even when we disagree,” Apple said in a statement. “The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns.”

Other messaging platforms like Signal and Telegram were also removed from China’s App Store.

The strained relationship between the two countries has also pushed Apple to try and diversify its supply chain outside of China. The company has been expanding its manufacturing operations in other nations like India and Vietnam.

China has a long history of restricting access to content from the U.S. online, but some platforms like WhatsApp and Threads have historically been permitted through Apple’s App Store. These platforms are not as popular with Chinese users as others like WeChat, but their removal reduces the number of ways they can communicate with people outside of the country.

Meta directed CNBC to Apple for comment. Signal and Telegram did not immediately respond to requests for comment.