* Taiwan dollar hovers near three-week low
* Chinese yuan falls post rate decision surprise
* Thailand baht advances after c.bank policy review

By Archishma Iyer
       Jan 15 (Reuters) - The Taiwan dollar fell to more than a three-week low
on Monday even as equities ticked higher after the country's Democratic
Progressive Party won the presidential election, while the Thai baht appreciated
most since mid-December.
    Taiwan's currency fell about 0.3% to hit its lowest since Dec. 22
to trade at 31.235 per dollar, while its stocks rose as much as 0.6%.
     The Democratic Progressive Party's candidate Lai Ching-te won the
presidency on Saturday, the third consecutive term for the DPP, but the party
lost its parliamentary majority. 
    While Taiwan shares rose on Monday, analysts expected the market might take
a hit this week following a 25% rise in just over a year, as the lack of a
parliamentary majority could complicate Lai's spending plans. 
    However, Citi analysts said the Taiwan dollar would likely outperform after
election volatility settles.
    "The market is likely to shift focus back to fundamental factors of a better
semiconductor industry outlook and lower global yields, which is more likely to
increase foreign flows and be supportive for TWD," they said in a client note. 
    Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan was flat, after the central bank in
Asia's largest economy skipped a much-expected rate cut but added some liquidity
to help the beleaguered economy. 
    The other Asian currencies such as the Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian
ringgit, Singapore dollar and the Philippines peso traded
between flat and marginally lower, while the South Korean won fell
about 0.4%. 
    The Thailand baht was a notable outlier among emerging Asian
currencies, advancing as much as 0.8% to trade at 34.753 per dollar and poised
for its best day since mid-December. 
    Bank of Thailand said that cutting interest rates would not help protect the
economy against external factors in a policy review held earlier in the day,
pointing towards a divergence of views between the government and the central
bank.   
    The low-yielding baht lost about 0.6% in the previous week, after the
country's prime minister raised concerns over high interest rates and economic
conditions in a meeting with the central bank governor.
    Thailand's central bank is scheduled to hold its monetary policy review on
Feb 7. It has raised rates by 200 basis points since August 2022 to temper price
pressures but has held rates steady since November 2023. 
    Among Asian stocks, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore
and South Korea firmed between 0.1% and 0.7%.  
    
    HIGHLIGHTS:    
    ** China's 2023 bank lending at record high, but economy still struggling 
    ** Vietnam's top leader attends parliament session after health concerns
    ** India's TCS to diversify to other markets amid US weakness 
    
    
 Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0400 GMT
 COUNTRY      FX RIC           FX   FX YTD   INDEX  STOCK  STOCKS
                          DAILY %        %              S   YTD %
                                                    DAILY  
                                                        %  
 Japan                      -0.16    -2.80  <.N225  1.11    37.84
                                            >              
 China                      +0.00    -0.99  <.SSEC   0.36   -2.78
                                            >              
 India                      +0.16    +0.50  <.NSEI   0.72    1.48
                                            >              
 Indonesia                  -0.05    -1.01  <.JKSE  -0.11   -0.54
                                            >              
 Malaysia                   -0.04    -1.23  <.KLSE   0.57    2.83
                                            >              
 Philippines                -0.01    -0.92           0.66    3.67
 S.Korea                    -0.43    -2.37  <.KS11   0.05   -4.86
                                            >              
 Singapore                  +0.01    -0.89           0.29   -1.21
 Taiwan                     -0.36    -1.62  <.TWII   0.53   -1.81
                                            >              
 Thailand                   +0.68    -1.85  <.SETI  -0.06   -0.23
                                            >              
 

 (Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)