| Title： |
Operating Rules of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation(2020.04.08) |
| Date： |
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Article 53-2
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Where a TWSE listed company merges with a company that is neither listed on the TWSE nor on the Taipei Exchange, by using as consideration a follow-on issue (whether by public offering and issuance or private placement) of shares or securities that may be converted into or may be used to subscribe shares, and the surviving company after the merger remains a TWSE listed company, except in the case of a securities, financial, or insurance company with special approval from the authority in charge of the industry concerned or where the TWSE listed company merges with a subsidiary of which it holds 90 percent or more of the outstanding shares, all the following conditions shall be met by the company that is neither listed on the TWSE nor on the Taipei Exchange:
- The financial data of the merged company that is neither listed on the TWSE nor the Taipei Exchange and the consolidated financial data of the merging and merged companies satisfy the profitability requirements of TWSE listed companies enumerated in Article 4 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listings; provided, the above shall not apply under either of the following circumstances:
- The net worth per share of the surviving company, both in the most recent financial year and on the most recent pro forma financial report, is higher than the net worth per share of the original TWSE listed company. Where the above proviso is satisfied, if the TWSE listed company or the merged company that is neither TWSE listed nor Taipei Exchange listed, from the date next following the date of the balance sheet in the most recent financial report to the date the application is filed with the TWSE, undergoes any material change in capital affecting the net worth per share, such as a capital increase or reduction or distribution of dividends, the net worth per share of the surviving company shall be higher than the net worth per share of the original TWSE listed company, and the attesting CPA shall submit a review opinion following the imputed adjustment.
- An express opinion of the Industrial Development Bureau, Ministry of Economic Affairs is obtained concluding that the merger will improve synergy effectively.
- The merged company that is neither listed on the TWSE nor the Taipei Exchange is free of the circumstances specified in Article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, and 12 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listings.
- The most recent annual financial reports of the merged company that is neither listed on the TWSE nor the Taipei Exchange have been audited by a CPA approved by the Competent Authority to perform auditing and attestation of financial reports of public companies, and the auditor issues an unqualified opinion.
Where a TWSE listed company merges with a foreign company meeting the conditions set forth in the Business Mergers and Acquisitions Act, the foreign company, unless it is a TWSE (or Taipei Exchange) primary listed company or TWSE (or Taipei Exchange) secondary listed company, or its stock is listed and traded on the main board of an overseas securities market approved by the Competent Authority, or it is a subsidairy of which the TWSE listed company holds 90 percent or more of the outstanding shares, shall comply with the provisions of Article 53-3, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2, and the TWSE listed company additionally shall submit the following documents:
- Documentation of foreign investment approval by the Ministry of Economic Affairs Investment Commission.
- An opinion by a Taiwan CPA regarding the differences in accounting principles applied in the Republic of China (Taiwan) and in the foreign company's home country and the resultant effects on the financial report.
- A written report analyzing and explaining the reasonableness of the share exchange ratio and price and overall synergy at the time of the merger between the TWSE listed company and the foreign company, issued by a CPA other than the original attesting CPA who is approved by the Competent Authority to perform auditing and attestation of financial reports of public companies.
For the purposes of this chapter, an overseas securities market approved by the competent authority is as defined in Article 23 of the Supplementary Provisions to the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules for Review of Securities Listings.
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Article 53-3
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Where a TWSE primary listed company, under the laws and regulations of the country in which it is registered, merges with any other company by using as consideration a follow-on issue of new shares or securities that may be converted into or may be used to subscribe shares, and the surviving company after the merger is to remain a TWSE primary listed company, the TWSE primary listed company shall submit the documents prescribed in Article 53-2, paragraph 2, subparagraphs 2 and 3, and the other company shall meet all of the requirements listed below:
- If the other company is a domestic company that is neither listed on the TWSE nor the Taipei Exchange, it shall comply with the conditions set out in all of the subparagraphs of Article 53-2, paragraph 1.
- If the other company is a foreign company that is neither a TWSE (or Taipei Exchange) primary listed company nor a TWSE (or Taipei Exchange) secondary listed company, or whose stock is not listed and traded on the main board of an overseas securities market approved by the Competent Authority, it shall comply with all the conditions set out in each following item;
- The financial data of the merged company and the consolidated financial data of the merging and merged companies each satisfy the requirements of Article 28-1, paragraph 1, subparagraph 4 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listings, unless the proviso of Article 53-2, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 is conformed to.
- The company is free of the circumstances under which TWSE listing is inappropriate as specified in Article 28-8, subparagraphs 1, 3, 4, and 5 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listings; and is also free of any circumstance under which there has been a material deficiency in the execution of the company's internal control system.
- The company's financial reports of the most recent fiscal year have been audited by a CPA approved by the Competent Authority to perform auditing and attestation of financial reports of public companies, and the auditor issues an unqualified opinion.
Subparagraphs 1 and 2 of the preceding paragraph do not apply if the other company with which the TWSE primary listed company merges is a subsidiary of which said company holds at least 90% of the issued shares.
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Article 53-6
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Where a TWSE listed or TWSE primary listed company is to conduct a merger pursuant to Article 53-2 or 53-3, and the additional common shares or overseas depositary receipts issued (whether by public offering or private placement) due to the said merger will account for 10 percent or more of the aggregate shares already issued and anticipated to be issued by the TWSE listed or TWSE primary listed company, any directors, supervisors, and shareholders holding more than 10 percent of the issued shares of the non-surviving company shall place in centralized custody in compliance with all of the below-listed provisions any additional common shares (including those publicly offered and issued or privately placed) or overseas depositary receipts issued due to the merger that they hold. However, this requirement shall not apply where a TWSE listed company merges with a subsidiary of which it holds 90 percent or more of the outstanding shares.
- Such persons obtaining common shares publicly offered and issued due to the merger shall place into centralized custody with the central securities depository approved for establishment by the competent authority all of the common shares publicly offered and issued due to the merger that they hold, and in aggregate not less than the number of shares calculated under Article 10, paragraph 2 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listings for the total amount of common shares offered and issued as a result of the merger. In case of shortage, negotiation shall be made with other shareholders holding common shares publicly offered and issued due to the merger to make up the shortfall. Of the shares placed in central custody, one-half may be withdrawn after a full 6 months has elapsed from the date that listed trading thereof commences. The remaining portion of shares may be withdrawn in full only after one full year has elapsed from the date that listed trading commences.
- Such persons obtaining privately placed common shares due to the merger shall issue a written undertaking not to transfer the shares within a certain period. The written undertaking shall furthermore state: "The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation may from time to time send personnel to carry out spot checks to ascertain whether I have faithfully abided by my undertaking not to transfer the common shares I have obtained through private placement due to the merger. After expiration of the period in which I have undertaken restricted transfer, for those shares I obtained due to the merger that are still classified as privately placed common shares, I shall continue to abide by the restrictions on transfer under Article 43-8 of the Securities and Exchange Act." The total ratio of privately placed common shares subject to the undertaking regarding restriction of transfer referred to above and the period of the restriction of transfer shall accord with the provisions of the preceding subparagraph.
- Such persons obtaining overseas depositary receipts issued for capital increase due to merger shall provide a written undertaking that for a certain period of time they shall not redeem or transfer the overseas depositary receipts held by them, and the surviving company after the merger shall incorporate provisions restricting redemption into the contract signed and entered into with the custodian institution. The total ratio of overseas depositary receipts subject to restriction of redemption or transfer and the period of the restriction shall accord with the provisions of subparagraph 1.
The provisions regarding the total ratio of shares subject to centralized custody, as referred in the preceding paragraph, need not apply where a TWSE listed company or TWSE primary listed company merges with a subsidiary company of which it holds 50 percent or more of the outstanding shares.
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Article 53-7
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Where a TWSE listed company or TWSE primary listed company will become a non-surviving company upon a merger with another company that is not listed on the TWSE (nor listed on the Taipei Exchange), the TWSE listed company or TWSE primary listed company shall submit an application, with relevant documentation, to the TWSE no later than 30 business days before the record date of the merger. After the TWSE has reviewed the application for compliance with regulations, trading of the company's securities shall be suspended beginning 2 business days prior to (and non-inclusive of) the book closure date, and its securities shall be delisted from the record date of the merger.
Upon a merger of a TWSE listed company or TWSE primary listed company with another company in accordance with the Business Mergers And Acquisitions Act or laws and regulations of the country of registration with new shares issued or cash paid by the parent company of such other company as consideration for the assignment of shares by the TWSE listed company or TWSE primary listed company, if the TWSE listed company or TWSE primary listed company becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the parent company of the other company as a result, the listed company shall submit an application, with relevant documentation, to the TWSE no later than 30 business days before the record date of the merger. After the TWSE has reviewed the application for compliance with regulations, trading of the company's securities shall be suspended beginning 2 business days prior to (and non-inclusive of) the book closure date, and its securities shall be delisted from the record date of the merger.
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Article 53-12
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The provisions of the preceding article shall also apply in cases where a single or multiple companies limited by shares or a foreign company converts shares into a newly established or existing TWSE listed or TWSE primary listed company; provided that if a company that is neither TWSE listed nor Taipei Exchange listed converts shares together therewith, the said unlisted company, unless a subsidiary of which the TWSE listed or TWSE primary listed company holds at least 90% of the shares, shall conform to the provisions of all the following subparagraphs:
- Profitability shall comply with subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listings, unless the proviso of Article 53-2, paragraph 1, subparagraph 1 is conformed to.
- There shall not exist any circumstance specified in subparagraphs 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, or 12 of paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the TWSE Rules Governing the Review of Securities Listing.
- The financial report for the most recent fiscal year shall have been audited by a CPA approved by the Competent Authority to perform auditing and attestation of financial reports of public companies and issued an unqualified opinion from such CPA.
If any company participating in the share conversion is a foreign company, Article 53-2, paragraph 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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