The Taiwan Monthly

Listed Companies and Initial Public Offerings

2020 Forum for Taiwanese Businesses Overseas: The Post-Pandemic Taiwan's capital market

As part of an ongoing effort to attract foreign companies to list on TWSE, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation, Deloitte Taiwan, and Chien Yeh Law Offices cohosted the "2020 Forum for Taiwanese Businesses Overseas: The Post-Pandemic Taiwan's Capital Market" on August 27. The co-organizers invited experts to discuss topics including financial and economic trends, capital and tax planning, and capital market entry planning in the post-pandemic world. The event was attended by close to 100 company representatives, including representatives of domestic listed companies and their subsidiaries. The event also attracted business owners and executives from around the world who were interested in returning to Taiwan for listing opportunities.

 

TWSE President Lih-Chung Chien said at the event that "According to the 2019 report from the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the total market capitalization of Taiwan's listed companies exceeded US$1 trillion. Taiwan ranked 18th by market cap in the world, or 12th by trading volume." In addition to being an active environment, Taiwan's capital market offers advantages in regulatory transparency, control of the length of review process, adoption of international standards, and easy access to secondary financing (secondary public offering, SPO). These conditions are quite favorable to returning Taiwanese businesses wishing to list on TWSE. There are currently 78 companies with TWSE as their primary listing. The average P/E ratio is 23. Their good performance since listed makes them very popular with investors.

 

Given the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, TWSE tries to allow companies affected by the pandemic but showing steady recovery an opportunity to raise funds in the capital market. Therefore, TWSE has announced concessionary measures, including two penalty-free listing extensions. For IPO applications in 2020 and 2021, the listing review will take into account the extent of COVID-19 impact on the applicant and its business performance in the last fiscal period. There will also be a particular focus on the stability and growth potential of the applicant's business outlook. Furthermore, the profitability criteria for IPO applications next year will be adjusted to reflect the situation. The measures above are expected to mitigate the short-term impact of COVID-19 on companies interested in listing on TWSE and enable them to enter the capital market as planned.

 

TWSE makes great efforts to attract foreign companies to list on TWSE. The total market cap of KY stocks has reached NT$1,000 billion at present. Taiwan's capital market is an excellent choice for companies seeking listing and funding. Companies achieves growth and sustainability with support of the capital market, and in turn provides more quality investment opportunities for investors, thereby creating a win-win situation for overseas Taiwanese businesses and the Taiwanese economy.

 

For further inquiries, please contact Mr. Chuang at 1020@twse.com.tw.