Section I Ordinary Corporate Bonds |
| Article 20 | When an issuer files for registration of an issue of straight corporate bonds, and purchasers of the bonds are restricted to professional investors as defined in the TPEx Rules for International Bonds, the content of the prospectus submitted shall be prepared in accordance with Article 6, paragraph 3 of the Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Public Offering and Issuance Prospectuses. If the purchasers of the bonds are not restricted to professional investors as defined in the TPEx Rules for International Bonds, the prospectus submitted shall be prepared in accordance with the above-mentioned provisions, and, in addition, shall specify any risks related to credit, the condensed balance sheet and statement of comprehensive income for the most three recent years and the most recent period.
The prospectus for the corporate bonds under the preceding paragraph shall disclose the concluding opinion of the securities underwriter, and the securities underwriter's undertaking that the underwriting fees collected may not, by any means or under any name, be reimbursed or refunded to the issuer, or to any related party thereof, or to any person designated by the issuer or a related party thereof.
For the corporate bonds of paragraph 1, an application shall be filed with the Taipei Exchange for OTC trading.
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| Article 21 | A public company may issue corporate bonds only after it has submitted the Registration Statement for Issuing Corporate Bonds (Attachment 14), provided all information required therein and sent the registration statement along with relevant documents to the FSC and obtained an effective registration.
In the event the public company registers with the FSC and FSC-designated institutions in accordance with the preceding paragraph, its registration shall become effective 3 business days after the Registration Statement for Issuing Corporate Bonds is received by the FSC and its designated institutions. However, the waiting period for effective registration is 12 business days in the case of a financial holding, bill finance, or credit card enterprise.
The provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 12, Article 15, and Article 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis to public companies that file for registration in accordance with paragraph 1.
After registering for issuing corporate bonds, if the public company changes the terms of issuance or the coupon interest rate and then submits the modified relevant documents to the FSC and FSC-designated institutions before the original registration becomes effective, its registration will become effective in accordance with the time frame prescribed in paragraph 2.
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| Article 22 | In the event the issuer meets all the following conditions simultaneously, it may submit the Shelf Registration Statement for Issuing Corporate Bonds (Attachment 15), provide all information required therein, along with all required documents to the FSC for effective registration. In addition, it shall complete the issuance within the scheduled issuance period.
- Its stocks have been listed in the stock exchange market or traded in the business places of securities firms for a combined period of 3 years or more. However, this provision does not apply under the following circumstances:
- Where the issuer is a government-owned enterprise.
- Where the issuer is a financial holding company conforming to Article 4 paragraph 4 of the Financial Holding Company Act providing that the subsidiary bank, subsidiary insurance company, or subsidiary securities firm be listed or its shares be traded in the business places of securities firms for a total of 3 years.
- In the fiscal year it files for registration and the preceding 2 fiscal years, it has not had any disposition imposed on it by the FSC under Article 178 of the Act for any violation of the Act or relevant laws or regulations.
- In the fiscal year it files for registration and the preceding 2 fiscal years, there has been no occurrence of rejection, or withdrawal by the FSC with regard to the offering and issuance of securities. However, this restriction need not apply to the case where, following the date of receiving the notice of effective registration, the issuance has not been fully subscribed and payment thereof has not been fully collected in cash and hence the case has been rejected or revoked by the FSC.
- In the fiscal year it files for registration and the preceding 2 fiscal years, the cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance plans effectively registered with the FSC have been implemented in accordance with the schedules and no material changes have occurred.
- In the fiscal year it files for registration and the preceding 2 fiscal years, the CPAs retained by the issuer have not received a warning or more severe sanction for their handling of securities offering and issuance.
- In the fiscal year it files for registration and the preceding 2 fiscal years, the lead underwriter retained by the issuer has not been punished in accordance with Article 66, subparagraph 2 of the Act to discharge its director, supervisor, or manager or with more severe sanctions in connection with handling of securities offering and issuance.
Paragraph 2 of Article 12, Articles 15, 16, and 20, and paragraphs 2 and 4 of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the issuer that registers with the FSC in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
The scheduled issuance period referred to in paragraph 1 may not exceed 2 years counting from the date of effective registration. The issuer shall set the said period at the time of registering with the FSC.
Where an issuer issues corporate bonds during the scheduled issuance period, it shall consign an underwriter to underwrite the issuance on a firm commitment basis.
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| Article 23 | When issuing corporate bonds within the scheduled issuance period as referred to in the preceding Article, the issuer shall, on the next business day after it has put such issuance plan in public announcement in accordance with Article 252 of the Company Act and completed payment collection, submit the Supplementary Form for the Shelf Registration for Issuing Corporate Bonds (Attachment 16) completed with all required information, together with required documents, to the FSC for recordation.
In case of change of CPA or lead underwriter retained by the issuer during the scheduled issuance period as referred in the preceding Article, qualifications prescribed in paragraph 1, subparagraph 5 or 6 of the preceding article shall apply to the succeeding CPA or lead underwriter.
The FSC may void or revoke the additional issuance of corporate bonds supplemental to the current issuance in case where an issuer violates Article 7 or paragraph 1 of the preceding article during the scheduled issuance period.
When a circumstance under the preceding paragraph occurs with respect to an issuer, if the issuer has already collected the proceeds for the securities, the issuer, within 10 days from the day it receives the notice of voidance or revocation from the FSC, shall return those proceeds plus interest computed in accordance with law, and bear liability for damages.
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| Article 24 | Upon the occurrence of any one of the following events, the effective registration of the shelf registration for issuing corporate bonds shall be terminated, and a public announcement of the termination shall be made within 2 days from the date of occurrence of the cause for termination:
- The issuer has the condition prescribed in paragraph 3 of the preceding article.
- The scheduled issuance period expires.
- The planned total issuance amount has been fully issued.
- The FSC deems revocation of the shelf registration to be necessary to protect the public interest.
Prior to the termination of such shelf registration pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the issuer is not allowed to register for issuing straight corporate bonds again.
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| Article 25 | Except as otherwise regulated by laws, an issuer registering the issuance of secured corporate bonds backed by stocks of another company shall comply with the following:
- The collateral shall be restricted to stocks, owned for 1 year or more by the issuer, of a listed company or a company whose shares are traded at the business places of securities firms in accordance with Article 3 of the TPEx Review Rules. The said collateral may not be attached with any restriction such as the creation of a pledge, restricted trading in the Stock Exchange market or an OTC market, change of trading method, or suspended trading.
- The value of the collateral upon registration may not be lower than 150 percent of the principal and interest to be borne by the subject corporate bonds to be issued.
- The collateral shall be mortgaged or pledged to the trustee of creditors, and it shall be noted in the trust contract that during the term of the corporate bond, the trustee shall daily evaluate the collateral based on its closing price. In case where the value of the collateral decreases to the extent that the collateral maintenance ratio is lower than a certain percentage of the principal and interests to be borne by the subject corporate bonds to be issued, the trustee shall promptly notify the issuer to settle the shortfall. The issuer shall settle the shortfall within 2 business days upon receipt of notification from the trustee, and shall state in the trust contract the actions to be taken when the issuer fails to settle the shortfall within the time limit, as well as the mandatory responsibilities of the trustee.
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| Article 26 | A public company may issue exchangeable corporate bonds whose repayment subject is the stocks, held by the public company for more than 2 years, of a listed company or a company whose shares are traded at the business places of securities firms in accordance with Article 3 of the TPEx Review Rules.
A public company may issue exchangeable corporate bonds only after it has submitted the Registration Statement for Issuing Exchangeable Corporate Bonds (Attachment 17), provided all information required therein, along with required documents to the FSC, and after such registration becomes effective.
Paragraph 2 of Article 12, Articles 15 and 16, and paragraph 4 of Article 21 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the public company registering with the FSC in accordance with the preceding paragraph, and such registration shall become effective 7 business days from the date upon which the FSC and FSC-designated institutions receive the registration statement for the issuance of corporate bonds. However, the waiting period for effective registration is 12 business days in the case of a financial holding, banking, bill finance, or credit card enterprise.
When issuing exchangeable corporate bonds, the issuer shall set out the following items in the terms of issuance and exchange:
- Article 29, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1 through 8, 10, 11, 13, and 17 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
- The procedures for requesting exchange and the ways of payment.
- The deposit procedures for the underlying shares.
Unless otherwise regulated by related laws, the aforementioned deposit procedure shall be conducted by a centralized securities depository enterprise. During the period of deposit, the underlying shares may not be pledged or retrieved.
The bondholder who requests for exchange shall fill out the Exchange Request Form and submits the form along with the bonds in question to the issuer or its agent. The exchange becomes effective at the time of receipt of the aforementioned documents. After receiving the exchange request from the bondholder, the issuer or its agent shall deliver the exchange underlying stock to the bondholder within the next business day. If the exchange results in odd-lot units of less than 1,000 shares, the stocks can be delivered within 5 business days.
When issuing exchangeable corporate bonds, the issuer shall engage securities underwriter(s) to handle a public offering of the entire issuance, to which the provisions of Article 30, Article 32, Article 35, and Article 37 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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