The Taiwan Monthly

Nov. 2020

Listed Companies and Initial Public Offerings

Beginning next (2021) year, a listed company with capital of NT$2 billion shall report the English version of its shareholders' meeting agenda handbook, annual report, and annual financial report

To accord with the Financial Development Action Plan of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC), listed companies are required to comprehensively report the English versions of their shareholders' meeting information beginning from 2023. The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE) has revised the relevant regulations of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules Governing Information Filing by Companies with TWSE Listed Securities and Offshore Fund Institutions with TWSE Listed Offshore Exchange-Traded Funds on September 30, 2020. Listed companies are required to report the English versions of their shareholders' meeting agenda handbooks and supplementary information, shareholders' meeting annual reports, and annual financial reports, in three phases based on the amount of capital or the percentage of shares held by foreign and Mainland Chinese investors.

I. The first phase: Listed companies with a paid-in capital of NT$10 billion or more at the end of 2019 or those having foreign and Mainland Chinese investors altogether holding 30% or more of the shares according to the shareholder register at the time of the 2019 annual general meeting shall continue to report the relevant English versions of information when holding special shareholders' meetings in 2020.II. The second phase: Beginning from 2021, listed companies whose paid-in capital at the end of 2020 and 2021 is NT$2 billion or more or those having foreign and Mainland Chinese investors altogether holding 30% or more of the shares according to the respective shareholder registers at the time of the 2020 and 2021 annual general meetings shall disclose the English versions of their information, respectively, in 2021 and 2022.
III. The third phase: Starting from 2023, all listed companies shall report relevant information in English.

The TWSE has stated that listed companies with a paid-in capital of NT$10 billion or foreign and Mainland Chinese shareholder percentage of 30% or more have reported the English versions of their shareholders' meeting agenda handbooks and supplementary information, shareholders' meeting annual reports, and annual financial reports in 2019 and 2020 in order to improve the quality and disclosure of information, to enhance information disclosure in English, and to conform with international practices. It stated that once the previously mentioned stages apply (whether capital or foreign and Mainland Chinese holdings reach the prescribed thresholds), they will continue to apply, and that there will be no exemptions where the capital has been reduced or foreign and Mainland Chinese holding percentage has fallen below 30% during the year. The TWSE reminds listed companies who satisfy the circumstances mentioned above for reporting the English versions of their shareholders' meeting information at each stage to give due attention to the timed roll-out of the regulations and to make preparations in advance.

For further inquiries, please contact Ms.Fu at 1229@twse.com.tw.