UPDATE 1-Investor Jim Rogers buys Taiwan assets

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By Faith Hung

TAIPEI, April 9 (Reuters) - Fund manager and investment author Jim Rogers said on Wednesday he is buying Taiwan's stocks and currency <TWD=TP>, two of Asia's top performers this year, amid optimism under a new president for reduced tensions with China.

"About six weeks ago, I started buying Taiwan stocks for the first time in my lifetime," Rogers, cofounder of the Quantum Fund with billionaire George Soros, told a business audience in Taipei.

He added that he was also buying the Chinese yuan <CNY=CFXS>, which has steadily risen against the dollar since July 2005 under heavy government management.

Taiwan held a presidential election on March 22 and the Nationalist Party (KMT), which favours closer trade ties with China, won by a landslide, lifting the island's financial markets on hopes for improved economic prospects and easing cross-strait tensions.

The election result also prompted Standard & Poor's to say last month that it was considering an upgrade of Taiwan's sovereign rating outlook to "stable" from "negative".

"The election opens up enormous opportunities for Taiwan and China," Rogers said. "We are very excited about what's going on. Maybe it's the first time in 60 years there's going to be peace."

Taiwan's financial markets enjoyed a boost this year after the Nationalist Party's decisive wins in legislative elections in January and the presidential election in March.