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Amendments

Title：

Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules Governing Review of Securities Listings  CH

Amended Date： 2024.03.11 (Articles 4, 28-1, 40 amended,English version coming soon)
Current English version amended on 2024.01.12 
Categories： Primary Market > Review
Article Content Chapter Content Search Article No. Search Legal Basis Subordinate Legislation Amended Article Attachment Legislative History Chinese

Title： Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules Governing Review of Securities Listings(2014.10.16)
Date：
Article 5     Where the central authority in charge of the enterprise concerned has issued an unequivocal opinion certifying that the issuing company applying for the listing of its stock is a technology-based enterprise or a cultural and creative enterprise, and the said issuing company meets the criteria listed below, the TWSE will agree to list its stock:
  1. At the time it applies for listing, its paid-in capital is NT$300 million or more and the number of shares of its publicly offered and issued common stock is 20 million shares or more.
  2. It has successfully developed a product or a technology with market potential, and the company has obtained an appraisal opinion from the central authority in charge of the enterprise concerned.
  3. It is recommended in writing by the securities underwriter.
  4. Its net worth in both its most recent financial report and in its financial report for the most recent fiscal year represents two-thirds or greater of the share capital stated on the financial report.
  5. The number of registered shareholders is 1,000 or more. Excluding company insiders and any juristic persons in which such insiders hold more than 50 percent of the shares, the number of registered shareholders is at least 500.
Article 10     An application for initial listing of stock filed by an issuing company shall not be approved unless and until shares representing all of the number of shares held by each of the following persons of the issuing company specified in the application for listing (with the total number of such shares being not less than the ratio specified in paragraph 2 of this Article), less those offered for public sale, have been placed in central custody with a central securities depository enterprise incorporated with the approval of the Competent Authority; provided however, that if the number of shares represented by shares placed in central custody pursuant to the above is less than the ratio specifies in paragraph 2 of this Article, the shortage shall be made up by other shareholders:
  1. Where the application for listing is filed in accordance with the provisions of Article 4, 6, 16, or Article 20, paragraph 1, or Article 20-1 of these Rules, its directors, supervisors and the shareholders holding 10 percent or greater of the total number of issued shares of the issuing company.
  2. Where the application for listing is filed in accordance with the provisions of Article 5 or Article 20, paragraph 3 of these Rules or where the applicant is an information software enterprise, its directors, supervisors, shareholders holding 5 percent or greater of the total number of issued shares, and/or shareholders whose equity investment is made in the form of patent rights or technical know-how, and who are working for the issuing company and hold 0.5 percent or greater of the total number of shares or 100,000 or more shares as of the date on which the application for listing is filed. However, this restriction shall not apply where shareholding of a recommending securities firm during the period of registration as emerging stock exceeds 5 percent of the total issued shares of said issuing company as a result of subscription or trading of operating securities during the emerging stock trading period.
    The total number of shares with respect to the shares to be placed in central custody by the issuing company under the preceding paragraph refers to the aggregate sum of common shares that have already been publicly offered and issued, as stated on the listing application documents,; the total ratio of shares to be placed in central custody by the issuing company shall be calculated as set forth below:
  1. Where the total number of shares is 30 million or less, shares representing 25 percent thereof shall be placed in central custody.
  2. Where the total number of shares is more than 30 million but 100 million or less, shares representing 20 percent of the portion of shares in excess of 30 million shares shall be placed in central custody in addition to those required under the preceding item.
  3. Where the total number of shares is more than 100 million but 200 million or less, shares representing 10 percent of the portion of shares in excess of 100 million shall be placed in central custody in addition to those required under the preceding item.
  4. Where the total number of shares is more than 200 million, shares representing 5 percent of the portion of shares in excess of 200 million shall be placed in central custody in addition to those required under the preceding item.
    The remaining shares after deducting those required for the public offering, as referred to in paragraph 1, include the following:
  1. From the date of application for initial listing to the listing date, all new shares obtained through capital increase for which amendment registration has been completed with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, as well as any shares that have come to be held for any other reason; for any shares that have not yet been obtained by the listing date, an undertaking shall be made to place the shares in central custody after obtaining them.
  2. From among the old shares provided by directors and supervisors of the issuer for an overallotment (greenshoe) option for the securities underwriter, any shares that were not actually sold in exercise of the overallotment option and that have been returned by the securities underwriter.

    One half of the shares placed in central custody by directors, supervisors and shareholders pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article may be withdrawn only after the end of a 6-month period starting from the listing date thereof; the remaining shares may be withdrawn in full only after the end of a one-year period starting from the listing date thereof.
    For an issuing company that applies for listing under the provisions of Article 4, where the total number of its shares required to be placed in central custody is assessed to exceed 50 percent of the issued shares of the issuing company, and the issuing company has paid-in capital of at least NT$30 billion, if the portion of the number of shares required to be placed in central custody exceeding the above-stated 50 percent of issued shares has been pledged to a financial institution by the director, supervisor, or shareholder of the issuing company who holds the shares for purposes of guaranteeing financing for the company or for him/herself, evidentiary documents furnished by the financial institution may be substituted for shares required to be placed in central custody; provided, if the pledge is released during the custody period, the director, supervisor, or major shareholder shall deposit the same amount of shares into central custody; or, if the subject of the pledge is disposed by the financial institution, the issuing company shall contact other directors, supervisors, or major shareholders to deposit the same amount of shares into central custody.
    Directors, supervisors, and shareholders shall not rescind the custodial agreement during the custody period. Shares and certificates in central custody shall not be transferred or pledged. The validity of central custody shall not be affected by a change of the identity of the holders of shares in central custody
    The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply to directors, supervisors and shareholders of government authorities, government-owned enterprises, or which have obtained an approval from the authority in charge of the enterprise concerned for the sale of the shares held by them and have been determined to be inappropriate to place such shares in central custody.    The total ratio of shares to be placed in central custody as specified in paragraph 2 of this Article shall not apply to government-owned enterprises.
Article 19     Where, upon application, a subsidiary, other than a government-owned enterprise, applies for the listing of its stock but is unable to meet the requirements set forth in all the subparagraphs below, the TWSE shall disagree to the listing, notwithstanding the fact that its application meets the criteria set forth in these Rules:
  1. A consolidated financial statement of the parent company and all of its subsidiaries which is prepared in accordance with the accounting principles of the home country of its parent company and an audit opinion issued by a CPA in the Republic of China stating the differences between the accounting principles applicable in the Republic of China and the accounting principles applicable in the home country of the parent company and the impact of such differences on such financial statement shall be submitted along with the application.
  2. According to the consolidated financial statement submitted pursuant to the preceding paragraph, the total amount of net worth shall be NT$1 billion or more in the most recent fiscal year and the net income before tax shall each represent 3 percent or greater of the total amount of net worth in each of the most recent 2 fiscal years; provided, if the applicant company is applying for listing pursuant to Article 5, Article 6, or Article 6-1, or if the amount of its purchase/sale transactions with its parent company in the year of the application for listing and in the most recent fiscal year is less than 10 percent of its total amount of purchases/sales, it will not be subject to the above-stated profitability ratio.
  3. The total number of shares of the applicant company held by the parent company and all of its subsidiaries, and by those companies' directors, supervisors, representatives, and greater than 10 percent shareholders, and by related parties thereof, shall not exceed 70 percent of the total number of its issued shares. If this 70 percent limit is exceeded, the applicant company shall conduct a pre-listing initial public offering to reduce the percentage of shares held by the aforesaid persons to 70 percent or lesser. However, the same does not apply where the applicant company meets the requirements of both of the following subparagraphs:
    1. It has established an audit committee or has independent directors numbering more than one-half of the total number of directors.
    2. Persons, other than those restricted by this subparagraph with respect to the total amount of shareholdings, hold a total of no less than 300 million shares.
  4. The applicant company shall have at least three independent directors.
  5. The applicant company's operating revenue derived from its parent company in the fiscal year of the application for listing and in the most recent fiscal year shall not exceed 50 percent of its operating revenue; its principal raw materials or principal products or total amount of purchases [obtained from its parent company] during such periods shall not exceed 70 percent of its purchases. However, this restriction shall not apply where the cause is characteristics of its business, market demand and supply conditions, government policy, or any other reasonable causes.
  6. If the stock of the parent company is already traded on the TWSE (or the GTSM), at the time of its application for TWSE listing, the pro forma operating revenue or operating income as stated in the pro forma consolidated financial statements for each of the most recent 4 quarters, excluding the financial data for the applicant company, and reviewed by a CPA, was not down by 50 percent or more from the operating revenue or operating income stated in the consolidated financial statements for the same period, and the parent company has not transferred any material customers or business within the most recent 2 fiscal years. However, this need not apply if the parent company and the subsidiary have different business types, industrial classifications, or product types, and moreover are not mutually competitive, or if it resulted from another reasonable cause.
     When a subsidiary applies for TWSE listing pursuant to the proviso of subparagraph 6 of the preceding paragraph, any transfer of shares within the three years prior to the application for TWSE listing for purposes of reducing the parent company's shareholding in the subsidiary shall have been conducted in a manner in which the pre-emptive subscription right is given to the original shareholders of the parent company or another manner not detrimental to the rights and interest of the shareholders of the parent.
Article 20      An investment holding company applying for listing of its stock may apply only as a professional investment company and only with the purpose of controlling the business operations of other companies, and shall be approved for the listing of its stock if it meets the requirements of the following subparagraphs:
  1. Years of incorporation: Three full years have elapsed following registration of incorporation, or the years of actual operation of any of its held companies exceed three years.
  2. Equity: The net worth for the most recent fiscal year reaches NT$1 billion or more.
  3. Profitability: The ratio of net income before tax to net worth as stated on the financial report for each of the most recent 2 fiscal years reaches 3 percent or higher.
  4. Dispersion of share ownership: The standard of Article 4, subparagraph 4 is met.
  5. The company does not engage in any business other than investment.
  6. The company shall have two or more held companies, and the held companies may not be professional investment companies and may not hold shares of the applicant company.
  7. At least 70 percent of the operating income in the financial reports shall come from the held companies.
  8. The sum total of the book value of its investment in the held companies shall equal 50 percent or more of each of its equity-method investment and net worth, as stated in the parent company only financial report.
  9. The company has not engaged in any borrowing or lending of funds with a non-financial institution.
  10. The ratio of net worth to total assets in the financial report for the most recent fiscal year shall reach one-third or more.
     A held company shall mean any of the following:
  1. An invested company of which an investment holding company directly holds more than 50 percent of the issued voting shares or has made a capital contribution of more than 50 percent.
  2. An invested company of which an investment holding company through its subsidiaries indirectly holds more than 50 percent of the issued voting shares or has made a capital contribution of more than 50 percent.
  3. An invested company of which an investment holding company directly, and indirectly through its subsidiaries, holds more than 50 percent of the issued voting shares or has made a capital contribution of more than 50 percent.
  4. A company of which an investment holding company directly or indirectly elects or appoints more than half of the directors for the board of directors.
     If an investment holding company applying for listing of its stock has a net worth for the most recent fiscal year reaching NT$800 million or more, and its held company or companies have successfully developed products or technology that contribute 50 percent of its total operating revenues, and the products or technology have been successfully developed and are marketable, and the central competent authority for the relevant industry has provided an unequivocal opinion stating that such company or companies are technology enterprises or cultural and creative enterprises, it may be exempted from the application of paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1 and 3.
     If the held company is required to be a professional investment company because the investment holding company has invested via a third location, it may be exempted from application of the provision of paragraph 1, subparagraph 6 that a held company may not be a professional investment company.
     Notwithstanding that an investment holding company applying for the listing of its stock meets the listing criteria set forth in these Rules, the TWSE shall disagree to its listing if the circumstance in Article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraph 8 applies to any of its held companies, and the TWSE may disagree to its listing if any of the circumstances in Article 9, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1, 3, 4, 6, or 12 applies to any of its held companies and the TWSE deems the listing inappropriate.
     A held company more than 70 percent of whose shares are held by an investment holding company that is already domestically listed on the TWSE (or GTSM) may not apply for domestic TWSE listing.
Article 28-6     If a foreign issuer that is a subsidiary of a parent company applies for TWSE primary listing of its stock, and complies with the provisions of this Chapter but cannot meet all of the following requirements, the TWSE shall not approve its stock listing:
  1. It shall submit the consolidated financial statement of the parent company and all of its subsidiaries. If that statement is not prepared in accordance with the applicable regulations governing the preparation of financial reports adopted by the competent authority for the relevant industry, the foreign issuer shall disclose any items with material discrepancies and the amount of any monetary impact of those discrepancies, and an opinion expressed by an ROC-licensed CPA regarding those items.
  2. As calculated based on the consolidated financial statement submitted pursuant to the preceding subparagraph, total net worth in the most recent fiscal year shall be NT$1 billion or higher, and the net income before tax in each of the most recent 2 fiscal years shall be 3 percent or more of the total net worth, provided that the aforesaid profitability percentages need not apply if the amount of purchases/sales transactions between the foreign issuer and its parent company in the fiscal year in which it applies for listing and the most recent fiscal year do not constitute 10 percent of the foreign issuer's total purchases/sales.
  3. The total holdings of its shares by the parent company and all of its subsidiaries, and by those companies' directors, supervisors, representatives, and greater than 10 percent shareholders, and by related parties thereof, may not be more than 70 percent of the total number of its shares. If those total holdings exceed 70 percent, the foreign issuer shall reduce that percentage to 70 or lower when it conducts the pre-listing public sale of its shares. The same does not apply, however, if the applicant company meets the following criteria:
    1. Where it has an audit committee, or has independent directors constituting more than one half of the total number of directors.
    2. Where one or more persons, other than those subject to the shareholding restriction in terms of the total number of shares as set out in this subparagraph, hold 300 million shares or more. In the case of a foreign issuer whose shares have no par value or a par value other than NT$10, the same shall apply where one or more persons, other than those subject to the shareholding restriction in terms of the total number of shares as set out in this subparagraph, have the equivalent of NT$6 billion or more in the net worth.
  4. It shall have at least three independent directors.
  5. In the fiscal year in which it applies for listing and the most recent fiscal year, it does not derive more than 50 percent of its operating revenue, or more than 70 percent of its principal raw materials, principal products, or the amount of its total purchases, from the parent company, provided that these restrictions shall not apply if due to special industry characteristics, conditions of supply and demand in the market, or another legitimate reason.
  6. If the stock of the parent company is already traded on the TWSE (or the GTSM), at the time of its application for TWSE listing, the pro forma operating revenue or operating income as stated in the pro forma consolidated financial statements for each of the most recent 4 quarters, excluding the financial data for the applicant company, and reviewed by a CPA, was not down by 50 percent or more from the operating revenue or operating income stated in the consolidated financial statements for the same period, and the parent company has not transferred any material customers or business within the most recent 2 fiscal years. However, this need not apply if the parent company and the subsidiary have different business types, industrial classifications, or product types, and moreover are not mutually competitive, or if it resulted from another reasonable cause.
     When a subsidiary applies for TWSE listing pursuant to the proviso of subparagraph 6 of the preceding paragraph, any transfer of shares within the 3 years prior to the application for TWSE listing for purposes of reducing the parent company's shareholding in the subsidiary shall have been conducted in a manner in which the pre-emptive subscription right is given to the original shareholders of the parent company or another manner not detrimental to the rights and interests of the shareholders of the parent.