Taiwan Stock Exchange - Rules & Regulations Directory

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Title:

Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules Governing Block Trading of Listed Securities 

Amended Date: 2016.03.08 
Categories: Securities Exchange Market > Trading > Securities Transaction

   Chapter 1 General Principles

Article 1
    These Rules are adopted pursuant to Article 71 and Article 74 of the Operating Rules of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE).
Article 2
    A block trade may only be conducted as either a non-paired trade or a paired trade.
    A block trade may not involve margin purchase or short sale.
    The settlement prices and securities that are receivable or deliverable for a block trade will be settled together with any other trades that are to be settled on the second business day after the trade date.
Article 3
    The volume, type, and dollar amount of a bid or ask quote placed by a securities firm shall comply with the following provisions:
  1. A block trade of a single security shall be for 500 or more trading units of a listed security.
  2. A block trade of a basket of stocks shall be for five or more listed stocks, and the total dollar amount shall be NT$15 million or more.
    Even if the criterion in subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph is not met, a block trade of a single security may still be carried out for a single quote for a purchase or sale with a total dollar amount of NT$15 million or more.
    The total dollar amount to be quoted shall be converted at the exchange rate posted by the TWSE on the preceding day if the securities mentioned in paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 and paragraph 2 are beneficial certificates of exchange-traded funds in foreign currency.
Article 3-1
    Quotes of volume for block trades are not required to be for single trading units or integral multiples thereof; they may be for single shares or integral multiples thereof.
    The tick increment of price quotes for block trades is one cent.
    Article 63 of the TWSE Operating Rules applies to the fluctuation ranges of price quotes as in the preceding paragraph, and the daily fluctuation limits shall comply with the provision on tick size as in Article 62 of the TWSE Operating Rules.
Article 4
    (Deleted)

   Chapter 2 Non-paired Trades

Article 5
    Trading hours for non-paired trades are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    Placement of quotes for non-paired trades will be temporarily suspended on all trading days on which no price fluctuation limit is imposed under Article 63, paragraph 2 of the TWSE Operating Rules.
Article 6
    The provisions of Article 28-1 of the TWSE Operating Rules apply to the total dollar amount of quotes for non-paired trades placed by a securities firm on a given day.
Article 7
    When a securities broker is engaged to provide a bid or ask quote for a non-paired trade, except where advance collection of funds or securities is otherwise required, the broker may pre-collect an appropriate portion or a fixed percentage of such funds or securities from the principal as circumstances merit.
Article 8
    Matching priority and execution price for individually placed bid quotes or ask quotes for non-paired block trades of a single security are handled according to the following principles:
  1. If the current bid quote is priced at or above the lowest previously placed ask quote, it will be matched and executed against individual asks sequentially from lowest to highest; if multiple ask prices are identical they will be matched and executed sequentially by time priority until the current bid quote is completely satisfied or the price of the current bid quote is lower than the prices of unexecuted ask quotes.
  2. If the current ask quote is priced at or below the lowest previously placed bid quote, it will be matched and executed against individual bids sequentially from highest to lowest; if multiple bid prices are identical they will be matched and executed sequentially by time priority until the current ask quote is completely satisfied or the price of the current ask quote is higher than the prices of unexecuted bid quotes.
    The current bid (or ask) quote for a non-paired block trade of a basket of stocks will be matched and executed against previously placed ask (or bid) quotes in order of time priority, on the condition that the stock codes, unit prices, and volumes of the current bid (or ask) quote must all be identical to those of the previously placed ask (or bid) quotes;.
Article 9
    During the trading periods specified in Article 5, paragraph 1, the TWSE will post real-time information on unexecuted quotes for non-paired trades.
    Transaction information regarding non-paired trades will be publicly announced in real time through a system for the posting of trading information.

   Chapter 3 Paired Trades

Article 10
    The trading periods for paired trades are from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and 9:00 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    A quote for a paired trade is valid during all trading periods that same day and, prior to execution, the original quote for a current paired trade may be canceled during any trading period.
Article 11
    (Deleted)
Article 12
    Placement of quotes for paired trades will be temporarily suspended on all trading days on which no price fluctuation limit is imposed under Article 63, paragraph 2 of the TWSE Operating Rules.
Article 13
    The provisions of Article 28-1 of the TWSE Operating Rules apply to the total dollar amount of quotes for paired trades placed by a securities firm on a given day.
    Among single paired trades, those trades quoted by a single securities firm for which the bid and ask amounts equal zero after netting are excluded from the calculation of the dollar amount under the preceding paragraph.
Article 14
    When a securities broker is engaged to provide a bid or ask quote for a paired trade, except where advance collection of funds or securities is otherwise required, the broker may pre-collect an appropriate portion or a fixed percentage of such funds or securities from the principal as circumstances merit.
Article 15
    When it places a bid or ask quote for a paired trade, a securities firm shall do so in accordance with the following provisions (the quote for the paired trade will not be matched and executed unless the ticker codes, unit prices, and volumes of the subject securities of the paired trade match up correctly and the TWSE has checked and found the quote to be in compliance with block trading requirements):
  1. When both the bid and ask quotes for the same paired trade are placed by a single securities firm, the firm shall first submit a quote indicating the group code, securities firm code, ticker code(s), unit price(s), a listing of purchases and sales, and total volume of the paired trade, and thereafter submit the order ticket number, type of the order, account number of the principal (or dealer), and trading order volume.
  2. When either bid or ask quotes for the same paired trade are placed by different securities firms, the group code, code for each securities firm, ticker code(s), unit price(s), a listing of purchases and sales, and the total trade volume shall first be provided in a quote placed by one of the ask-side securities firms acting as representative for the other(s). The ask-side representative and each of the other securities firms participating in the paired trade shall then each separately provide an order ticket number, type of the order, their principal (or dealer) account number, and trading order volume.
    Where a block trade of a basket of stocks is conducted as a paired trade, only one principal's account number (or dealer's account number) will be provided for the bid and ask quotes, respectively, and the stock codes, unit prices, and volumes must match up. Matching and execution based on the current pair as quoted will not be carried out until the quote has been checked by the TWSE and found to be in compliance with block trading requirements.
Article 16
    Transaction information regarding paired trades will be publicly announced in real time through a system for the posting of trading information.
    However, transaction information from pre-market hours will be publicly announced after market opening.

   Chapter 4 Clearing and Settlement

Article 17
    (Deleted)
Article 18
    (Deleted)

   Chapter 5 Supplementary Provisions

Article 19
    Prices of securities quoted and transacted under these Rules will not be taken as opening or closing prices for the trading day, nor will they be taken as the basis for recording market highs or lows.
Article 20
    The handling of matters on which these Rules are silent shall be subject mutatis mutandis to the relevant rules of the TWSE.
Article 21
    These Rules shall take effect after having been submitted to and approved by the competent authority. Subsequent amendments thereto shall be effected in the same manner.
Data Source:Taiwan Stock Exchange - Rules & Regulations Directory
twse-regulation.twse.com.tw