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Article 7
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The contents of an annual report shall include:
1. A report to the shareholders.
2. A corporate governance report.
3. Information on capital raising activities: Disclose the company's capital, any issuance of shares, corporate bonds, preferred shares, global depository receipts, and employee stock warrants, new restricted employee shares, any merger and acquisition activities (including mergers, acquisitions, and demergers), and the status of implementation of capital allocation plans.
4. An overview of operations.
5. A review and analysis of the company's financial position and financial performance, and a listing of risks.
6. Other items deserving special mention.
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Article 9
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(deleted)
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Article 10
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The corporate governance report shall include the following:
1. Information on the company's directors, supervisors, general manager, assistant general managers, deputy assistant general managers, and the chiefs of all the company's divisions and branch units, as follows:
A. Directors and supervisors: names; gender; age, nationality or place of registration; principal work experience and academic qualifications; position(s) held concurrently in the company and/or in any other company, date on which current position was assumed; term of contract; the commencement date of the first term, shares held by directors/supervisors and their spouses, children of minor age, and held through nominees; professional expertise; and the diversity policy and status of independence of the board of directors. For directors and supervisors acting as the representatives of institutional shareholders, this section shall indicate the names of the institutional shareholders, and shall further indicate the names of its 10 largest shareholders and the holding percentage of each. If any of those 10 largest shareholders is an institutional shareholder, the name of the corporate shareholder and the names of its 10 largest shareholders and the holding percentage of each shall be noted (see Table 1).
B. The general manager, assistant general managers, deputy assistant general managers, and the chiefs of all the company's divisions and branch units: names; gender; nationality; principal work experience and academic qualifications; date on which current position was assumed; term of contract; and shares held by them and their spouses, children of minor age, and held through nominees (see Table 1-1).
C. Where the chairperson of the board of directors and the general manager or person of an equivalent post (the highest level manager) of a company are the same person, spouses, or relatives within the first degree of kinship, an explanation shall be given of the reason for, reasonableness, necessity thereof, and the measures adopted in response thereto (see Tables 1 and 1-1).
2. Remuneration paid during the most recent fiscal year to directors, supervisors, the general manager, and assistant general managers (see Table 1-2 and Table 1-3):
A. The company may opt either to disclose aggregate remuneration information, with the name(s) indicated for each remuneration range, or to disclose the name of each individual and the corresponding remuneration amount.
B. If any of the following applies to the company, it shall disclose the remuneration paid to each individual director and supervisor:
a. A company that has posted after-tax deficits in the parent company only financial reports or individual financial reports within the three most recent fiscal years shall disclose the remuneration paid to individual directors and supervisors. This requirement, however, shall not apply if the company has posted net profit after tax in the parent company only financial report or individual financial report for the most recent fiscal year and such net profit after tax is sufficient to offset the accumulated deficits.
b. A company that has had an insufficient director shareholding percentage for 3 consecutive months or longer during the most recent fiscal year shall disclose the remuneration of individual directors; one that has had an insufficient supervisor shareholding percentage for 3 consecutive months or more during the most recent fiscal year shall disclose the remuneration of individual supervisors.
c. A company that has had an average ratio of share pledging by directors or supervisors in excess of 50 percent in any 3 months during the most recent fiscal year shall disclose the remuneration paid to each individual director or supervisor having a ratio of pledged shares in excess of 50 percent for each such month.
d. If the total amount of remuneration received by all of the directors and supervisors in their capacities as directors or supervisors of all of the companies listed in the financial reports exceeds 2 percent of the net profit after tax, and the remuneration received by any individual director or supervisor exceeds NT$15 million, the company shall disclose the remuneration paid to that individual director or supervisor.
e. A company listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) or the Taipei Exchange (TPEx) is ranked within the lowest two tiers in the corporate governance evaluation for the most recent fiscal year, or in the most recent fiscal year or up to the date of publication of the annual report for that year, the company's securities have been placed under an altered trading method, suspended from trading, delisted from the TWSE or the TPEx, or the Corporate Governance Evaluation Committee has resolved that the company shall be excluded from evaluation.
f. The average annual salary of the full-time non-management employees in a TWSE or TPEx listed company is less than NT$500,000 in the most recent fiscal year.
g. A TWSE or TPEx listed company had an increase of 10 percent or more in net profit after tax for the most recent fiscal year, but the average annual salary of its full-time non-management employees did not increase relative to the preceding fiscal year.
h. A TWSE or TPEx listed company had a decline in after-tax net income reaching 10 percent and exceeding NT$5 million for the most recent fiscal year, along with an increase in its average remuneration per director (not including the remuneration of those who are also employees) reaching 10 percent or more and exceeding NT$100,000.
C. If the circumstance in sub-item "a" or in sub-item "e" of the preceding item applies to a company listed on the TWSE or the TPEx, it shall disclose the individual remuneration paid to each of its five highest remunerated management personnel (see Table 1-2).
D. Separately compare and describe total remuneration, as a percentage of net income stated in the parent company only financial reports or individual financial reports, as paid by this company and by each other company included in the consolidated financial statements during the past 2 fiscal years to directors, supervisors, general managers, and assistant general managers, and analyze and describe remuneration policies, standards, and packages, the procedure for determining remuneration, and its linkage to operating performance and future risk exposure.
3. The state of the company's implementation of corporate governance:
A. The state of operations of the board of directors: Number of meetings; attendance rate of each director; an evaluation of targets for strengthening of the functions of the board during the current and immediately preceding fiscal years, and measures taken toward achievement thereof; and any other matters that require reporting (see Table 2).
B. The state of operations of the audit committee or the state of participation in board meetings by the supervisors: Number of meetings; rate of attendance (or of attendance as a non-voting participant) of each independent director or supervisor; and any other matters that require reporting (see Table 2-1, Table 2-1-1).
C. The state of the company's implementation of corporate governance, any deviation from the Corporate Governance Best-Practice Principles for TWSE/TPEx Listed Companies, and the reason for any such deviation (see Table 2-2).
D. If the company has a remuneration committee or nomination committee in place, the composition and operation of such committee shall be disclosed (see Table 2-2-1).
E. The state of the company's promotion of sustainable development, any deviation from the Sustainable Development Best Practice Principles for TWSE/TPEx Listed Companies, and the reason for any such deviation (see Table 2-2-2); a company that meets certain conditions shall disclose climate-related information (see Table 2-2-3).
F. The state of the company’s performance in the area of ethical corporate management, any deviation from the Ethical Corporate Management Best Practice Principles for TWSE/TPEx Listed Companies, and the reason for any such deviation (see Table 2-2-4).
G. Other significant information that will provide a better understanding of the state of the company's implementation of corporate governance may also be disclosed.
H. The section on the state of implementation of the company's internal control system shall furnish the following:
a. A Statement on Internal Control.
b. Where a CPA has been hired to carry out a special audit of the internal control system, furnish the CPA audit report.
I. Material resolutions of a shareholders meeting or a board of directors meeting during the most recent fiscal year or during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report.
J. Where, during the most recent fiscal year or during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report, a director or supervisor has expressed a dissenting opinion with respect to a material resolution passed by the board of directors, and said dissenting opinion has been recorded or prepared as a written declaration, disclose the principal content thereof.
4. Information on the professional fees of the attesting CPAs (external auditors):
A. The company shall disclose the amounts of the audit fees and non-audit fees paid to the attesting certified public accountants and to the accounting firm to which they belong and to any affiliated enterprises as well as the details of non-audit services (see Table 2-4), and given any of the following conditions, shall disclose information as follows:
a. When the company changes its accounting firm and the audit fees paid for the fiscal year in which such change took place are lower than those for the previous fiscal year, the amounts of the audit fees before and after the change and the reasons shall be disclosed.
b. When the audit fees paid for the current fiscal year are lower than those for the previous fiscal year by 10 percent or more, the reduction in the amount of audit fees, reduction percentage, and reason(s) therefor shall be disclosed.
B. The professional fees for auditing services referred to in the preceding item means the professional fees paid by the company to certified public accountants for auditing, review, and secondary reviews of financial reports and for financial forecast reviews.
5. Information on replacement of certified public accountant: If the company has replaced its certified public accountant within the last 2 fiscal years or any subsequent interim period, it shall disclose the following information: (see Table 2-5)
A. Regarding the former certified public accountant:
a. Date of and reason for replacement of the certified public accountant, specifying whether it was the certified public accountant that voluntarily ended the engagement or declined further engagement, or the company that terminated or discontinued the engagement.
b. If the former certified public accountant issued an audit report expressing other than an unqualified opinion during the 2 most recent years, furnish the opinion and reason.
c. Indicate whether there was any disagreement between the company and the former certified public accountant relating to accounting principles or practices, financial report disclosure, or auditing scope or procedure. If any disagreements did exist, the company shall describe in detail the nature of each such disagreement, how the company handled them (including whether the company has authorized the former certified public accountant to respond fully to the inquiries of the successor certified public accountant concerning the subject matter of each such disagreement), and how the disagreements were finally handled.
d. Where the former certified public accountant has advised the company that it lacked the sound internal controls necessary for the preparation of reliable financial reports.
e. Where the former certified public accountant has advised the company that he or she was unable to rely on the company's written representations, or was unwilling to be associated with the financial report prepared by the company.
f. Where the former certified public accountant has advised the company of the need to expand the scope of the audit, or of information showing that an expanded audit might impact the reliability of either a previously issued financial report or the financial report to be issued but, due to replacement of the certified public accountant or for any other reason, the former certified public accountant did not expand the scope of the audit.
g. Where the former certified public accountant has advised the company that information collected might impact the reliability of either a previously issued financial report or the financial report to be issued but, due to the replacement of the certified public accountant or for any other reason, the certified public accountant did not deal with the issue.
B. Regarding the successor certified public accountant:
a. Name of the successor accounting firm, name of the certified public accountant, and date of engagement.
b. If prior to the formal engagement of the successor certified public accountant, the company consulted the newly engaged accountant regarding the accounting treatment of or application of accounting principles to a specified transaction, or the type of audit opinion that might be rendered on the company's financial report, the company shall state and identify the subjects discussed during those consultations and the consultation results.
c. The company shall consult and obtain written views from the successor certified public accountant regarding the matters on which the company did not agree with the former certified public accountant, and shall make disclosure thereof.
C. The company shall mail to the former certified public accountant a copy of the disclosures it is making pursuant to item A and to (c) of the here preceding item, and advise the accountant of the need to respond by mail within 10 days should the accountant disagree. The company shall disclose the content of the reply letter from the former certified public accountant.
6. Where the company's chairperson, general manager, or any managerial officer in charge of finance or accounting matters has in the most recent year held a position at the accounting firm of its certified public accountant or at an affiliated enterprise of such accounting firm, the name and position of the person, and the period during which the position was held, shall be disclosed. The term "affiliated enterprise of a certified public accountant's accounting firm" means one in which the certified public accountants at the accounting firm of the attesting certified public accountant hold more than 50 percent of the shares, or of which such accountants hold more than half of the directorships, or a company or institution listed as an affiliated enterprise in the external publications or printed materials of the accounting firm of the certified public accountant.
7. Any transfer of equity interests and/or pledge of or change in equity interests (during the most recent fiscal year or during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report) by a director, supervisor, managerial officer, or shareholder with a stake of more than 10 percent during the most recent fiscal year or during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report. Where the counterparty in any such transfer or pledge of equity interests is a related party, disclose the counterparty's name, its relationship between that party and the company as well as the company's directors, supervisors, managerial officers, and ten-percent shareholders, and the number of shares transferred or pledged (see Table 3).
8. Relationship information, if among the company's 10 largest shareholders any one is a related party or a relative within the second degree of kinship of another (see Table 3-1).
9. The total number of shares and total equity stake held in any single enterprise by the company, its directors and supervisors, managerial officers, and any companies controlled either directly or indirectly by the company (see Table 4).
The certain conditions mentioned in item E of subparagraph 3 of the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the FSC.
The latter part of item E, subparagraph 4, paragraph 1 amended on 25 November 2022 shall be enforced from 1 January 2024.
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Article 11
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The section on capital and shares shall include the following information:
1. Source of capital stock: Disclose the types of shares issued by the company during the preceding fiscal year and in the current fiscal year up to the date of the publication of the report. If approval has been granted to offer and issue securities by shelf registration, additionally disclose the approved amount and information regarding securities to be issued or already issued (see Table 5).
2. List of major shareholders: List all shareholders with a stake of 5 percent or greater, and if those are fewer than 10 shareholders, also list all shareholders who rank in the top 10 in shareholding percentage, and specify the number of shares and stake held by each shareholder on the list (see Table 8).
3. Company's dividend policy and implementation thereof: Disclose the dividend policy adopted in the company's articles of incorporation, as well as the dividend distributions proposed at the most recent shareholders' meeting. If a material change in dividend policy is expected, provide an explanation.
4. Effect upon business performance and earnings per share of any stock dividend distribution proposed or adopted at the most recent shareholders' meeting.
5. Profit-sharing compensation of employees, directors, and supervisors:
A. The percentages or ranges with respect to employee, director, and supervisor profit-sharing compensation, as set forth in the company's articles of incorporation.
B. The basis for estimating the amount of employee, director, and supervisor profit-sharing compensation, for calculating the number of shares to be distributed as employee profit-sharing compensation, and the accounting treatment of the discrepancy, if any, between the actual distributed amount and the estimated figure, for the current period.
C. Information on any approval by the board of directors of distribution of profit-sharing compensation:
a. The amount of any employee profit-sharing compensation and director and supervisor profit-sharing compensation distributed in cash or stocks. If there is any discrepancy between that amount and the estimated figure for the fiscal year these expenses are recognized, the discrepancy, its cause, and the status of treatment shall be disclosed.
b. The amount of any employee profit-sharing compensation distributed in stocks, and the size of that amount as a percentage of the sum of the after-tax net income stated in the parent company only financial reports or individual financial reports for the current period and total employee profit-sharing compensation.
D. The actual distribution of employee, director, and supervisor profit-sharing compensation for the previous fiscal year (with an indication of the number of shares, monetary amount, and stock price, of the shares distributed), and, if there is any discrepancy between the actual distribution and the recognized employee, director, or supervisor profit-sharing compensation, additionally the discrepancy, cause, and how it is treated.
6. Status of a company repurchasing its own shares: (see Table 10)
A. Repurchases already completed: The company shall describe, for the most recent year and the period up to the annual report publication date, the purpose of the repurchase of its own shares, the period for the repurchase, the price range of the shares to be repurchased that it reported, and the type, number, and monetary amount of the shares already repurchased, the ratio of the number of shares that were repurchased to the planned number of shares to be repurchased, the number of shares that have been canceled and that have been transferred, the cumulative number of its own shares that the company holds, and the ratio of the cumulative number of its own shares that it holds to the total number of its issued shares.
B. Any repurchase still in progress: The company shall describe the purpose of the repurchase, the type of shares to be repurchased, the ceiling on the total monetary amount of the repurchase, the planned period for the repurchase, and number of shares to be repurchased, and the price range of the shares to be repurchased, and also shall specify, as of the annual report publication date, the type, number, and monetary amount of the shares already repurchased, and the ratio of the number of shares that were repurchased to the planned number of shares to be repurchased.
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Article 18
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The overview of business operations shall include the following:
1. A description of the business:
A. Scope of business: the company's major lines of business and the relative weight of each, current products (services), and new products (services) planned for development.
B. An overview of the industry: the current status and development of the industry, the links between the upstream, midstream, and downstream segments of the industry supply chain, and development trends and competition for the company's products.
C. An overview of the company's technologies and its research and development work: a listing of research and development expenditures as well as technologies and/or products successfully developed during the most recent fiscal year or during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report.
D. The company's long- and short-term business development plans.
2. An analysis of the market as well as the production and marketing situation, including:
A. Market analysis: analysis of the geographic areas where the main products (services) of the company are provided (supplied), the company's market share, demand and supply conditions for the market in the future, the market's growth potential, the company's competitive niche, positive and negative factors for future development, and the company's response to such factors.
B. Usage and manufacturing processes for the company's main products.
C. Supply situation for the company's major raw materials.
D. A list of any suppliers and clients accounting for 10 percent or more of the company's total procurement (sales) amount in either of the 2 most recent fiscal years, the amounts bought from (sold to) each, the percentage of total procurement (sales) accounted for by each, and an explanation of the reason for increases or decreases in the above figures. Where the company is prohibited by contract from revealing the name of a client, or where a trading counterpart is an individual person who is not a related party, it may use a code in place of the actual name (see Table 16-1 and Table 16-2).
3. The number of employees employed for the 2 most recent fiscal years, and during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report, their average years of service, average age, and education levels (including the percentage of employees at each level) (see Table 19).
4. Disbursements for environmental protection: any losses suffered by the company in the most recent fiscal year and up to the annual report publication date due to environmental pollution incidents (including any compensation paid and any violations of environmental protection laws or regulations found in environmental inspection, specifying the disposition dates, disposition reference numbers, the articles of law violated, and the content of the dispositions), and disclosing an estimate of possible expenses that could be incurred currently and in the future and measures being or to be taken. If a reasonable estimate cannot be made, an explanation of the facts of why it cannot be made shall be provided.
5. Labor relations:
A. List any employee benefit plans, continuing education, training, retirement systems, and the status of their implementation, and the status of labor-management agreements and measures for preserving employees' rights and interests.
B. List any losses suffered by the company in the most recent fiscal year and up to the annual report publication date due to labor disputes (including any violations of the Labor Standards Act found in labor inspection, specifying the disposition dates, disposition reference numbers, the articles of law violated, the substance of the legal violations, and the content of the dispositions), and disclosing an estimate of possible expenses that could be incurred currently and in the future and measures being or to be taken. If a reasonable estimate cannot be made, an explanation of the facts of why it cannot be made shall be provided.
6. Cyber security management:
A. Describe the cyber security risk management framework, cyber security policies, concrete management programs, and investments in resources for cyber security management.
B. List any losses suffered by the company in the most recent fiscal year and up to the annual report publication date due to significant cyber security incidents, the possible impacts therefrom, and measures being or to be taken. If a reasonable estimate cannot be made, an explanation of the facts of why it cannot be made shall be provided.
7. Important contracts: the contracting parties, major content, restrictive clauses, and the commencement dates and expiration dates of supply/distribution contracts, technical cooperation contracts, engineering/construction contracts, long-term loan contracts, and other contracts that would affect shareholders' equity, where said contracts were either still effective as of the date of publication of the annual report, or expired in the most recent fiscal year (see Table 20).
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Article 19
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(deleted)
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Article 21
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Special items to be included:
1. Information related to the company's affiliates: the consolidated business report, consolidated financial statement, and affiliation report for the most recent fiscal year, compiled in accordance with the FSC's Regulations Governing Preparation of Consolidated Business Reports Covering Affiliated Enterprises, Consolidated Financial Statements Covering Affiliated Enterprises, and Reports on Affiliations.
2. Where the company has carried out a private placement of securities during the most recent fiscal year or during the current fiscal year up to the date of publication of the annual report, disclose the date on which the placement was approved by the board of directors or by a shareholders meeting, the amount thus approved, the basis for and reasonableness of the pricing, the manner in which the specified persons were selected, the reasons why the private placement method was necessary, the targets of the private placement, their qualifications, subscription amounts, subscription price, relationship with the company, participation in the operations of the company, actual subscription (or conversion) price, the difference between the actual subscription (or conversion) price and the reference price, the effect of the private placement on shareholders' equity, and, for the period from receipt of payment in full to the completion of the related capital allocation plan, the status of use of the capital raised through the private placement of securities, the implementation progress of the plan, and the realization of the benefits of the plan (see Table 24).
3. Other matters that require additional description.
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Article 22-1
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If the content of any information required to be reported under Article 10, paragraph 1, subparagraph 3, item h and subparagraph 7 (fore part), Article 17, and Article 21, subparagraphs 1 and 2 has already been publicly announced and reported on the information reporting website designated by the FSC, it may be incorporated in the annual report by cross-reference to the source where the information can be found, whereupon, such publicly announced and reported information shall be deemed content of the annual report.
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