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Amendments

Title：

Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Securities Issuers  CH

Amended Date： 2023.12.29 
Article Content Chapter Content Search Article No. Search Legal Basis Subordinate Legislation Amended Article Legislative History Chinese

Title： Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Securities Issuers(2015.11.12)
Date：
Article 3     The Financial Supervisory Commission ("FSC") shall supervise the offering and issuance, secondary distribution, and retroactive handling of public issuance procedures, issuance of new bonus shares, and capital reductions through effective registration.
    In these Regulations, the term "effective registration" means that the issuer has duly filed all relevant documents with the FSC for registration in accordance with law. Unless the documents do not contain all the required information, amendment is required to protect the public interest, or the filing is rejected by the FSC, the registration will become effective after a designated number of business days from the date when the FSC and FSC-designated institutions receive the filing submission.
    The fact of effective registration for the items set forth under paragraph 1 may not be cited as proof of the veracity of registration particulars, or as guarantee of the value of the securities.
    The term "business day" as used in paragraph 2 means a day on which transactions are conducted in the securities market.
    The term "company traded on an OTC market" as used in these Regulations means a company whose stock has been approved for trading on an OTC market in accordance with Article 3 or Article 3-1 of the Taipei Exchange Rules Governing the Review of Securities for Trading on the TPEx ("TPEx Review Rules").
    The term "financial reports" as used in these Regulations means consolidated financial reports, or if the issuer does not have a subsidiary, means individual financial reports.
Article 6     An issuer registering to offer and issue securities shall submit a prospectus.
    Given any of the following circumstances when the issuer files for registration, the issuer shall ask the lead securities underwriter for an evaluation and ask a lawyer to review the relevant legal issues. They shall respectively provide an evaluation report and a legal opinion in accordance with regulatory requirements:
  1. The filing for registration for issuance of new shares for cash, new shares in connection with merger, new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, or new shares in connection with an acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with laws, is made by a public company whose stocks are listed on a stock exchange (a "listed" company) or by an OTC company.
  2. A company whose stock is approved for trading in the business places of securities firms in accordance with Article 5 of the Taipei Exchange Rules Governing Review of Emerging Stocks Traded on Over-the-Counter Markets (hereinafter referred to as an "emerging stock company") carries out a cash capital increase through a new share issue and allocates a certain percentage of the newly issued shares to a public offering.
  3. A company whose stock is neither listed on a stock exchange (hereinafter referred to as "unlisted") nor traded in the business places of securities firms, conducts an issuance of new shares for cash and allocates a certain percentage of the aggregate new shares to be publicly offered in accordance with Article 18.
  4. The offering is used to establish a company.
  5. Corporate bonds with equity characteristics are to be offered publicly through a securities underwriter.
    If the securities firm meets the financial and business requirements set by the FSC, it can be exempted from the requirement that the lead underwriter must issue an evaluation report.
    The legal opinion in paragraph 2, and concluding opinions of the evaluation report, shall be provided in the prospectus.
Article 8     Where an issuer conducts an offering and issuance of securities as contemplated under Article 6, paragraph 2, the FSC may reject the registration upon the occurrence of any one of the following events:
  1. Fifty percent of the original directors have changed during the year of registration or during the previous 2 years, and a shareholder has obtained its shares in violation of the provisions of Article 43-1 of the Act. However, this provision does not apply where corrections have been made prior to the registration date.
  2. Any one of the events set forth under Article 156 of the Act applies to an exchange-listed or OTC-listed company. However, this restriction does not apply to any company upon which restrictions have been imposed, in accordance with the provisions of Article 139, paragraph 2 of the Act, with respect to the trading of its shares on a stock exchange.
  3. The present offering and issuance plan is unfeasible, unnecessary, or unreasonable.
  4. Any one of the following events has occurred in the implementation of a previous plan for the offering and issuance, or private placement, of securities, and the situation has not been improved:
    1. The process of implementation is seriously delayed without legitimate reason and the implementation has not been completed yet.
    2. The plan has undergone substantial change without due reasons and such change has not been completed. However, this provision does not apply where more than 3 years have passed between the registration date and the actual completion date of the plan.
    3. The offering and issuance plan has undergone material change, but said change has not yet been reported to a shareholders' meeting for approval.
    4. The company has failed in the most recent year to observe the provisions of Article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 4 through 9, or provisions set out in Article 11 of the Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Overseas Securities by Issuers.
    5. The company has failed to faithfully disclose information in accordance with the Directions for Public Companies Conducting Private Placements of Securities, where the circumstances are serious.
    6. No reasonable benefit is derived from the plan and no legitimate reason is provided. However, in the event more than 3 years have passed since the completion date of the plan till the registration date, such restriction does not apply.
  5. An important part of the plan for the present offering and issuance of securities (such as methods of issuance, source of funds, particulars of the plan, implementation schedule, and expected returns) has not been placed on the agenda of a board meeting or shareholders meeting in accordance with the Company Act and the issuer's articles of incorporation, or has not been adopted by resolution at such a meeting.
  6. The company which has lent a substantial amount of money to other parties for purposes other than financing needs arising from business transactions with other companies or business firms, and which has not yet rectified the situation, submits for registration to conduct a cash capital increase or issue corporate bonds.
  7. The company has entered into an irregular transaction of material significance, and has not yet rectified the situation.
  8. The company files for registration to conduct a cash capital increase or issue corporate bonds, but holds financial assets distinguished as current, idle assets, or investment property with no plan to actively dispose of or develop such holdings, and their total value is equivalent to either: (1) 40 percent or more of the equity attributable to owners of the parent in the most recent financial reports audited and attested (or reviewed) by a CPA, or (2) 60 percent of the total amount of funds to be raised through the cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance. However, this provision does not apply when the funds to be raised will be used to purchase property, plant and equipment and there is a concrete plan to evidence the need to raise the funds.
  9. Proceeds from the cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance are to be used to invest in a company engaged primarily in the trading of securities, or to establish a securities firm or a securities service enterprise.
  10. The company has failed to prepare its financial statements in accordance with relevant acts or regulations, or with generally accepted accounting principles, and such violations are of material significance.
  11. The company has violated the provisions of Article 5, paragraph 2.
  12. The internal control system is seriously deficient in design or implementation.
  13. The company's share price fluctuated abnormally during the month prior to the date of registration.
  14. Any one of the following descriptions applies to the shareholdings of the entire body of the company's directors or supervisors:
    1. The percentage of their equity stake is in violation of Article 26 of the Act and they have been notified to make up for the shortfall but they have not yet done so.
    2. The percentage of their equity stake still does not meet the required equity stake set forth under Article 26 of the Act even after accounting for the share issue that the company is now registering; provided, however, that this does not apply where the entire body of the company's directors or supervisors pledges to make up for the shortfall upon completion of the offering.
    3. During the fiscal year in which the registration filing is made, or during the preceding fiscal year, the entire body of the company's directors or supervisors did not honor a promise to make up for a shortfall in their equity stake.
  15. The issuer or its current chairperson or general manager, or a de facto responsible person has received a fixed sentence or a more severe punishment from a court in the past 3 years due to violation of laws governing business and industry such as the Act, the Company Act, Banking Act, Financial Holding Company Act, or Business Accounting Act, or due to a crime involving breach of faith such as corruption, malfeasance, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, or embezzlement.
  16. The court has decided that the issuer has an obligation for damages under the Act and the issuer has not met that obligation yet.
  17. Collateral has been provided for a loan of any third party in violation of Article 5 of the Regulations Governing Loaning of Funds and Making of Endorsements/Guarantees by Public Companies, the circumstances are serious, and there has been no improvement.
  18. There is an issuance of new shares in connection with a merger, or an issuance of new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, or an issuance of new shares in connection with an acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with related laws, and any one of the following descriptions presents:
    1. There has been a material violation of the provisions of Chapter 2, Section 5 of the Regulations Governing the Acquisition and Disposal of Assets by Public Companies.
    2. The received or acquired shares are not the newly issued shares of another company, non-current equity investment, or previously issued shares held by the shareholders of another company.
    3. The ownership rights over the received shares or the acquired business or assets are encumbered or limited in such a way that restrictions on the trading rights are imposed.
    4. There has been a violation of Article 167, paragraph 3 or 4 of the Company Act.
    5. An audit report with unqualified opinion was not issued by a CPA for financial reports of an absorbed company for the most recent fiscal year; provided, that this provision does not apply where an audit report with qualified opinion was issued together with an unqualified opinion on the balance sheet.
  19. An event prescribed in Article 13, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2, item 6 occurs, and any of the following circumstances is present:
    1. A filing for issuance of new shares for cash, and any director or supervisor, or shareholder who holds shares over 10 percent of the total issued shares of the issuer, fails to undertake to place a certain percentage of their shares under the custody of a centralized securities depository enterprise.
    2. A filing for issuance of convertible corporate bonds or corporate bonds with warrants, for which the issuance rules do not specify that the offerees are required, from the issuance date of the corporate bonds, to place the corporate bonds and any subsequently converted or subscribed shares under the custody of the centralized securities depository enterprise for one year.
  20. The securities underwriter, at the time the issuer files for registration, has received cumulatively 10 demerit points in the most recent year from the FSC, TWSE, TPEx, and Taiwan Securities Association, and three months have not elapsed since the date when the demerit points cumulatively reached 10 points. However, this restriction does not apply to a cash issue by an emerging stock company of new shares that are to be sold in the public sale prior to an initial listing on the stock exchange or OTC market.
  21. The FSC deems it necessary, in order to protect the public interest, to reject or disapprove the issuer's application.
    The term "company engaged primarily in the trading of securities" as referred to in subparagraph 9 of the preceding paragraph shall mean a company in which the issuer has directly invested, or in which a subsidiary of the said issuer has invested under the equity method, provided that its cash, together with cash equivalents, financial assets listed under current assets, and securities issued by the issuer account for 50 percent or more of the total assets value of such company, and the revenue or profit/loss respectively from trading or holding of the aforesaid assets account for 50 percent or more of the revenue or profit/loss of such company.
    Where an issuer conducts an offering and issuance of securities as contemplated under Article 6, paragraph 2, subparagraph 2, or where either an OTC-listed company applying to transfer its listing to a stock exchange or an exchange-listed company applying to transfer its listing to an OTC market carries out a cash capital increase in order to achieve compliance with standards governing dispersion of equity ownership, if the underwriter evaluation report clearly explains the feasibility of the capital allocations and the reasonableness of the expected benefits of the present offering and issuance plan, then provisions regarding the necessity of the plan, as set out in subparagraph 5 of the preceding article and in paragraph 1, subparagraph 3 of this article, need not apply.
    If the issuer is a securities, futures, or financial enterprise, it is not required to include investments in financial assets distinguished as current in its calculations when totaling the value of the assets set forth under paragraph 1, subparagraph 8. The provisions paragraph 1, subparagraph 9 need not apply if the issuer is an insurance enterprise, or it is an emerging stock company conducting a cash capital increase through a new share issue in accordance with the provisions of Article 6, paragraph 2, subparagraph 2, or it is either an OTC-listed company applying to transfer its listing to a stock exchange or an exchange-listed company applying to transfer its listing to an OTC market that intends to carry out a cash capital increase in order to achieve compliance with standards governing dispersion of equity ownership.
    The provisions prescribed in paragraph 1, subparagraph 8 need not apply where an issuer, for the purpose of enjoying tax incentives, conducts a cash capital increase to raise funds not greater in amount than the upper limit set by the competent authority or NT$100 million.
    With respect to the issuance of new shares in connection with merger, issuance of new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, or issuance of new shares in connection with an acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with the law, the following parts of paragraph 1 need not apply: subparagraph 1, those provisions of subparagraph 4 that relate to implementation of a previous plan for cash capital increase or corporate bonds, and subparagraphs 13, 15, and 19.
Article 9     After the registration of a planned offering and issuance of securities has become effective, the issuer shall act in accordance with the following regulations:
  1. Within 30 days after receipt of notice indicating that the registration has become effective, the issuer shall act in accordance with Article 252 or Article 273 of the Company Act. However, an issuer filing for registration of an issue of straight corporate bonds shall act in accordance with the TPEx Review Rules and the Taipei Exchange Rules Governing Management of Foreign Currency Denominated International Bonds ("TPEx Rules for International Bonds").
  2. With exception of the issuance of new shares in connection with merger, issuance of new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, issuance of new shares in connection with acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with related laws, issuance of straight corporate bonds, issuance of employee stock option certificates, and issuance of new restricted employee shares, an issuer shall retain a financial institution to collect payments and deposit them in the designated account opened by the issuer, and shall, prior to collecting payments, respectively enter into a payment collection agreement with the retained financial institution and an agreement for deposit in the designated account with the bank thereof, and within 2 days from the signing of such agreements shall enter the name of the financial institution and the date of the agreement into the website specified by the FSC for reporting of information. The collection of payments and deposit thereof in a designated account may not be handled by the same business unit in a bank. The financial institution of the designated account shall only allow an issuer to withdraw or use the money after the financial institution has received all the money due. Within 2 days after receipt of all the money due, the issuer shall enter the information on full collection of the proceeds into the website specified by the FSC for reporting of information.
  3. Except where otherwise provided for by the FSC, within 30 days after the receipt of the approval letter for permission of incorporation or the amendment registration certificate of issuing new shares from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the issuer of public offering shall have the securities certified in accordance with the Regulations Governing Certification of Corporate Stock and Bond Issues by Public Companies. The securities shall be delivered to subscribers or placees and a public announcement shall be made prior to the delivery; provided that in case where physical securities are not printed, certification of stocks and corporate bonds shall be exempt in accordance with the Regulations Governing Certification of Corporate Stock and Bond Issues by Public Companies.
  4. Before issuing corporate bonds, the issuer shall enter into a contract with a centralized securities depository enterprise, agreeing therein to provide information related to the issue, and to lend its cooperation when asked to help with cancellation of the previous owner, repayment of principal, and payment of interest.
  5. Before the utilization plan of the cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance is completed, the company having cash capital increase or issuing corporate bonds shall disclose the progress of the said plan in its annual report. In the case of the issuance of corporate bonds, within 2 days of the completion of the funds offering and prior to the tenth day of each month during the issuance period of the corporate bonds, information related to the issuance of the corporate bonds shall be input into the website specified by the FSC for reporting of information.
  6. Within 10 days after the end of each quarter, the quarterly report on the plan for cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance and capital utilization shall be posted to the website specified by the FSC for reporting of information in accordance with FSC regulations.
  7. Where an exchange-listed or OTC-listed company conducts a cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance, it shall contact the original underwriter or the attesting CPA to comment on the reasonableness of the progress made regarding capital utilization and of the purposes for unused capital, and on whether there has been any deviation from the capital utilization plan, and within 10 days after the end of each quarter shall post this information together with the information referred to in the preceding subparagraph to the information reporting website specified by the FSC.
  8. Listed or OTC companies issuing new shares in connection with a merger, issuing new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, or issuing new shares in connection with acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with related laws, shall, within 10 days after the end of each quarter during the first year after completion and registration of the merger, receipt of transfer of shares of another company, or acquisition or demerger, ask the original lead underwriter to provide an assessment opinion as to whether any of the aspects of the merger would have an effect on the finances, business, and shareholders' equity of the issuer, and input the same into the website specified by the FSC for reporting of information.
  9. In the event of a change to an item or monetary amount of a particular item in the plan for cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance, thus causing the total amount required for the original item to either decrease or increase by an amount equivalent to 20 percent or more of the funds to be raised, the company shall amend the plan and, within 2 days after the amendment has been ratified by resolution of the board of directors, make a public announcement and submit the amendment to a shareholders' meeting for ratification; if the corporate bonds are denominated in a foreign currency, the funds raised thereby shall either be retained as foreign currency, or the entire amount converted into New Taiwan Dollars via an FX swap or cross currency swap (CCS) for use; otherwise, it shall apply for the approval of the Central Bank. If the company is an exchange-listed or OTC-listed company, upon such amendment and thereafter within 10 days after the end of each quarter, the listed or OTC company shall contact the original underwriter to comment on the reasonableness of the progress made regarding capital utilization and of the purposes for unused capital, and key in the aforesaid change and comment in combination with information as referred to in subparagraph 6 into the website specified by the FSC for reporting of information.
  10. For corporate bonds issued in foreign-currency denominations, the collection of, payment of interest on, and repayment of principal for, funds raised thereby and, where the circumstances set forth in Article 11, paragraph 4 exist, the return of payment, shall be conducted by a designated bank through a foreign exchange deposit account using the book-entry transfer method.
  11. For corporate bonds issued in foreign-currency denominations, a separate Statement of Changes in the Outstanding Balance of Issued Foreign-Currency Denominated Corporate Bonds (Table 34) shall be filed on the information reporting website specified by the FSC on the 20th day of each month for the data as of the 15th of that month, and by the 5th day of each month for the data as of the end of the previous month; such Statements shall also be filed with the Central Bank.
    In the event the issuer conducts a shelf registration to issue corporate bonds, any change to the filed material for the first issuance of corporate bonds occurring within the scheduled issuance date shall be reported to the FSC and be put in public announcement.
Article 11     If any of the circumstances listed below is discovered at an issuer that offers and issues securities, the FSC may void or revoke its effective registration or approval:
  1. In a case in which the issuer has filed for registration of an issue of straight corporate bonds, the offering period exceeds the prescribed period under the TPEx Review Rules and the TPEx Rules for International Bonds.
  2. In a case other than one falling under the preceding paragraph, the subscription payment has not been fully raised and paid in cash after 3 months from the date of receiving the notice of effective registration from the FSC, or after the extended offering period granted by the FSC.
  3. Any one of the events prescribed under Article 251, paragraph 1 or Article 271, paragraph 1 of the Company Act occurs.
  4. The issuer is in violation of Article 20, paragraph 1 of the Act.
  5. The issuer is in violation of Article 5.
  6. A serious breach of, or failure to fulfill, a commitment made at the time securities were offered and issued.
  7. For purposes of protecting the public interest, or if the issuer is in violation of these Regulations or any restrictions or prohibitions imposed at the time when the FSC notified the issuer that its registration had become effective or application had been approved.
    In the event a holder of securities makes a secondary distribution to unspecified persons, the FSC may revoke the registration when the situation prescribed under the aforementioned subparagraphs 4, 6 or 7 occurs after the registration with it has become effective.
    From the date on which the registration becomes effective until the date of completion of the securities offering, if the content of a publicly disclosed financial forecast or other released information is at variance with the registration or application documents, and there has been a material impact on securities prices or shareholders' equity, the FSC may revoke or void the effectiveness of the report.
    After the effective registration is revoked, if the issuer or holder has received money from others for purchasing securities, it shall return such payment with interests as regulated by laws within 10 days upon receipt of the cancellation notice from the FSC and be responsible for damages.
Article 11-1      When an issuer files to issue shares for cash for the purpose of public sale in connection with an initial listing on the stock exchange or OTC market pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 2, the FSC may engage the Taiwan Stock Exchange, or Taipei Exchange to handle the case.
     When an issuer files for registration of an issue of straight corporate bonds in accordance with Articles 21 and 22 or files for an initial public offering in accordance with Article 66, and concurrently files for a new share issue for cash capital increase in accordance with Article 13, paragraph 2 or Article 72, paragraph 2, the FSC may engage the TPEx to handle the case.
     When the Taiwan Stock Exchange or Taipei Exchange is engaged by the FSC to handle a case under the preceding two paragraphs, if, after effective registration, any circumstance under paragraph 1 or 3 of the preceding Article, Article 66, paragraph 4, or Article 72, paragraph 4 is discovered to exist, the FSC may order the engaged institution to void or revoke the effective registration.
Article 13     For an issuer conducting any of the case types listed below, registration shall become effective 20 business days from the date on which the FSC and FSC-designated institutions receive its registration form for the issuance of new shares:
  1. Establishment by offering.
  2. Any one of the types of share issuance set forth under Article 6, paragraph 2, subparagraphs 1 and 3, where the circumstances in any one of the following items exist:
    1. An issuance conducted in accordance with Article 6, paragraph 2 has been previously rejected, disapproved or revoked by the FSC. However, this restriction need not apply where the case had been rejected or revoked by the FSC because the issuance had not been fully subscribed and payment therefore had not been fully collected in cash since the effective registration or upon arrival of notification of approval.
    2. The issuer has been sanctioned two or more times by the FSC in accordance with Article 178 of the Act for violating the Act or other relevant acts and regulations during the fiscal year when the registration was filed or during the previous fiscal year.
    3. The profits or net profits before tax of the issuer show losses in the recent 2 consecutive years or the latest financial reports indicate that the net asset value per share is lower than its par value.
    4. The issuer is required to allocate special reserve for its non-arm's length transactions and such requirement is not lifted yet.
    5. During the year of registration or the previous 2 years, an event set forth under Article 185 of the Company Act has occurred or a portion of the operations or R&D results is transferred to another company. However, if the operating revenue or assets value of those transferred items or the expenses accumulated for R&D does not exceed 10 percent of the operating revenue or assets value or R&D expenses shown on the financial reports of the previous year respectively, such restriction does not apply.
    6. A change to one-third or more of directors has occurred in the year of registration or the previous 2 years and any one of the following events takes place, provided that this rule does not apply if more than half of the issuer's directors are controlled by the original major shareholders before and after such change:
      1. The submitted financial reports indicates an addition to the principal products (meaning that the operating revenue resulting from the products accounts for 20 percent or more of the operating revenue) and that the total operating revenue or operating income from the added principal products accounts for 50 percent or more of the same respective categories of that year. However, the difference between the operating revenue for the preceding and following periods did not reach 50 percent or more therefore the principal products may not be counted.
      2. The submitted financial reports indicates that the issuer has acquired an on-going or completed construction project and the operating revenue or operating income from that project has reached 30 percent of the same respective categories of that year.
      3. The submitted financial reports indicates that the issuer has received transfer of a portion of the operations or R&D results of another company other than an affiliated company and that the operating revenue or operating income from that partial operations or R&D result has reached 30 percent of the same respective categories of that year.
    7. The securities underwriter, at the time the issuer files for registration, has received cumulatively 5 or more demerit points in the most recent year from the FSC, TWSE, TPEx, and Taiwan Securities Association.
    Except for an issuer filing for registration pursuant to the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the registration of an issuer that files to issue new shares shall become effective 12 business days after the date on which the FSC and FSC-designated institutions receive its registration form. However, for an issuer other than those in the financial holding, banking, bills finance, credit card, or insurance businesses that conducts any of the matters listed below, the effective registration period shall be shortened to 7 business days:
  1. An emerging-stock company, or company that is neither listed on an exchange nor traded on an OTC market, issues new shares for a cash capital increase, and does not allocate a certain percentage of the newly issued shares to a public offering.
  2. An emerging-stock company, or company that is neither listed on an exchange nor traded on an OTC market, issues new shares in connection with merger, or issues new shares in connection with an acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with related laws.
  3. An emerging-stock company issues new shares for cash for the purpose of public sale in connection with initial listing on the stock exchange or OTC market.
  4. Either an OTC-listed company has applied to transfer its listing to a stock exchange or an exchange-listed company has applied to transfer its listing to an OTC market, and the Taiwan Stock Exchange or the Taipei Exchange has filed the exchange listing or OTC listing with the FSC, and the company is now carrying out a cash capital increase in order to achieve compliance with standards governing dispersion of equity ownership.
    Where an issuer issues new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, and files for effective registration with the FSC on the same day, that registration becomes effective 12 days from the date on which the FSC and FSC-designated institutions receive the registration application.
    Paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 does not apply to cases of issuance of new shares in connection with merger, issuance of new shares in connection with receiving transfer of shares of another company, or issuance of new shares in connection with acquisition or demerger conducted in accordance with related laws.
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 collected underwriting fees will not in any manner or under any name be used to compensate, or be returned to, the issuer or its related parties or any of their designated persons.
    For the corporate bonds of paragraph 1, an application shall be filed with the Taipei Exchange for OTC trading.
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.
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.
  1. 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:
    1. Where the issuer is a government-owned enterprise.
    2. 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.
  2. It has periodically or non-periodically disclosed its financial information to the public in accordance with Article 36 of the Act or other relevant laws for the past 3 years.
  3. There has been no occurrence of rejection, or withdrawal by the FSC with regard to the offering and issuance of securities within the past 3 years. 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.
  4. The cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance plans effectively registered with the FSC within the past 3 years have been implemented in accordance with the schedules and no material changes have occurred.
  5. The CPAs retained by the issuer have not received a warning or more severe sanction for their handling of securities offering and issuance within the last 3 years.
  6. 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 within the last 3 years.
    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.
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 suspend the additional issuance of corporate bonds supplemental to the current issuance in case where an issuer violates Article 7and paragraph 1 of the preceding article during the scheduled issuance period.
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:
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
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:
  1. Article 29, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1 through 8, 10, 11, 13, and 17 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
  2. The procedures for requesting exchange and the ways of payment.
  3. 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.
Article 28     A convertible corporate bond issuance denominated in a foreign currency shall submit to the Taipei Exchange an application for trading over-the-counter.
Article 40     For an issuance of corporate bonds with equity warrants that is denominated in a foreign currency, an application shall be filed with the Taipei Exchange for OTC trading.
Article 51      (Deleted)
Article 66     In the event that the issuer conducts initial public offering in accordance with paragraph 1 of Article 42 of the Act and paragraph 3 of Article 156 of the Company Act, it shall submit the registration statement (Attachment 24) to the FSC, providing the necessary information and annexing the relevant documents such as the stock issue prospectus. The registration will become effective 12 business days after the receipt of the registration statement by the FSC and FSC-designated institutions.
    The Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Public Offering and Issuance Prospectuses and the Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Financial Institution Prospectuses for Offering and Issuance of Securities shall apply mutatis mutandis to the information to be provided in the stock issue prospectus under the preceding paragraph.
    Article 5, paragraph 2 of Article 12, Article 15, and Article 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis to submission of the registration statement under paragraph 1.
    If, after effective registration for initial public offering under paragraph 1, any circumstance set forth in Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraph 4, 5, or 7 is discovered to exist, the FSC may revoke or void the effective registration.
    A company conducting an initial public offering of stock under paragraph 1 shall concomitantly conduct an initial public offering of employee stock option certificates previously issued under Article 167-2 of the Company Act.
    A company conducting an initial public offering of stock under paragraph 1 may concomitantly conduct an initial public offering of straight corporate bonds previously privately placed under Article 248 of the Company Act, after 3 years have elapsed from the delivery date of the privately placed straight corporate bonds.
    If a company that has publicly issued stock under the Act does not continue to publicly issue stock, any securities that it has privately placed under Article 43-6 of the Act are not eligible to be included together with its stock under an application to the FSC for initial public offering until 3 years have elapsed from the delivery date of the privately placed securities.
Article 68     For the below-listed securities privately placed by a public company in accordance with laws and securities subsequently distributed, converted, or subscribed, the public company must arrange with the FSC for a public offering, at least 3 full years after the delivery date of the privately placed securities, before it may apply to the Stock Exchange or the Taipei Exchange for listing or for trading at the places of business of securities firms:
  1. Stocks privately placed under Article 43-6 of the Act and shares subsequently obtained as bonus shares thereof.
  2. Ordinary corporate bonds privately placed in accordance with laws.
  3. For employee stock option certificates privately placed under Article 43-6 of the Act, subsequently subscribed certificates of payment of shares, shares, and shares obtained as bonus shares thereof.
  4. For preferred shares with warrants, corporate bonds with warrants, and convertible corporate bonds privately placed in accordance with Article 43-6 of the Act, the privately placed preferred stock with warrants, corporate bonds with warrants and convertible corporate bonds, and the subsequently subscribed certificates of payment for shares, certificates of entitlement to new shares from convertible bonds, shares, and shares obtained as bonus shares.
  5. For private placement of overseas corporate bonds, overseas stocks, and participation in the private placement of overseas depositary receipts in accordance with Article 43-6 of the Act, the shares that obtained through redemption, conversion, or subscription, or obtained as bonus shares.
    A filing for registration to conduct a public offering under the preceding paragraph shall be submitted to the FSC with a Registration Statement (Attachments 25 to 31) specifying all required information and with the required documents attached. The registration shall become effective 7 full business days after the Registration Statement is received by the FSC and FSC-designated institutions, and the provisions of Article 5, paragraph 2 of Article 12, Article 15, and Article 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis. However, the waiting period for effective registration is 12 business days in the case of a financial holding, banking, bill finance, credit card, or insurance enterprise.
    If, after effective registration for public offering under paragraph 1, any circumstance set forth in Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 4 to 7 is discovered to exist, the FSC may revoke or void the effective registration.
Article 72     To issue bonus shares or carry out a capital reduction, a public company shall submit for registration to the FSC a registration statement, (Attachments 32 and 33) specifying all required particulars, and the required documents.
    Registration under the preceding paragraph shall become effective when the number of business days specified in the subparagraphs below has elapsed from the date upon which the FSC and FSC-designated institutions receive the registration statement:
  1. 3 business days for issuance of new bonus shares.
  2. 12 business days for capital reduction by a TWSE or TPEx listed company.
  3. 7 business days for capital reduction by an emerging stock company, or a company whose shares are neither listed on an exchange nor traded at the business places of securities firms.
  4. 12 business days for a registration case by a financial holding, bank, bills finance, credit card, or insurance enterprise.
    The provisions of Article 5, paragraph 2 of Article 12, Article 15, and Article 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis to cases handled under paragraph 1.
    If, after effective registration, any circumstance in Article 11, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 4 to 7, the FSC may revoke or void the effective registration.