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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(2017.10.13)
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 with market potential, 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. (deleted)
  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 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 total equity to total assets in the financial report for the most recent fiscal year shall reach one-third or more.
  11. In the event of an issuer listed in the food industry or whose income from catering business occupies at least 50% of its total operating income in the last fiscal year, at least one of the held companies that it holdsshall comply with subparagraph 5, paragraph 1, Article 4.
     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 contribute 50 percent of its total operating revenues, 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 with market potential, 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 28-1     The TWSE may issue documentation evidencing listing approval of the application by a foreign issuer for a TWSE primary listing if that issuer meets all of the requirements listed below:
  1. It complies with regulations in connection with the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. However, if individuals, juristic persons, groups, or other institutions from the Mainland Area have direct or indirect shareholding or capital contribution exceeding 30 percent in, or effective control over, the foreign issuer, special-case permission shall be obtained from the competent authority.
  2. At the time it applies for listing, the applicant company or any of its controlled companies shall have an operational track record of 3 years or longer.
  3. The company scale meets one of the following criteria:
    1. At the time of application for listing, paid-in capital or net worth is NT$600 million or higher.
    2. At the time of listing, market capitalization is NT$1.6 billion or higher.
  4. Its cumulative net income before tax for the most recent 3 fiscal years is NT$250 million or higher, and its net income before tax for the most recent fiscal year is NT$120 million or higher, and it does not have any accumulated deficit.
  5. Its number of shareholders of record is 1,000 or more, and the number of shareholders other than insiders of the foreign issuer and juristic persons of which such insiders own over 50 percent of the shareholding is no less than 500 and their total shareholdings constitute 20 percent or more of the total issued shares or not less than 10 million shares.
  6. An issuer listed in the food industry or whose income from catering business occupies at least 50% of its total operating income in the last fiscal year shall comply with the following:
    1. Establish a laboratory to engage in self-inspection.
    2. Deliver the raw materials, semi-finished products and finished products whose inspection is outsourced, to a laboratory or inspection institution certified or accredited by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan Accreditation Foundation or an institution engaged by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, for inspection.
    3. Request a reasonable opinion from an independent specialist on its food safety monitoring plan, inspection cycle, items for inspection etc.
  7. The number of shares planned to be listed and traded shall exceed 50 percent of the total number of its issued shares.
  8. It is recommended, in writing, by two or more securities underwriters.
    Where a foreign issuer applies for a TWSE primary listing of stock, if, for the foreign issuer or a company controlled by it contribute 50 percent of its overall operating revenue, there has been issued an unequivocal opinion by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, or a TWSE-designated professional institution, indicating that the company is a technology enterprise or a cultural and creative enterprise with market potential, if the foreign issuer meets the requirements of the following subparagraphs, the TWSE may issue evidentiary documentation indicating its approval of the listing:
  1. It complies with the relevant provisions of the Act Governing Relations Between Peoples of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area. However, if individuals, juristic persons, groups, or other institutions from the Mainland Area have direct or indirect shareholding or capital contribution exceeding 30 percent in, or effective control over, the foreign issuer, special-case permission shall be obtained from the competent authority.
  2. At the time of the listing application, the applying company or the controlled company that is a technology enterprise shall have a business record of one full fiscal year or more.
  3. At the time of the listing application, the paid-in capital or net worth reaches NT$300 million or more, or the market capitalization reaches NT$800 million or more.
  4. At the time of the listing application, the net worth on the most current financial report audited and attested by a CPA is not lower than two-thirds of the capital stock, with proof that the company has operating capital sufficient for 12 months of operation following the listing. In the case of a foreign issuer whose shares have no par value or a par value other than NT$10, the issuer's net worth shall be not less than two-thirds of the sum of the share capital plus capital reserves minus original issue premium.
  5. Its number of shareholders of record is 500 or more, and the total shareholdings of the shareholders of record other than insiders of the foreign issuer and juristic persons of which such insiders own over 50 percent of the shareholding constitute 20 percent or more of the total issued shares or not less than five million shares.
  6. The number of shares planned to be listed and traded shall exceed 50 percent of the total number of its issued shares.
  7. It is recommended by two or more securities underwriters.
    When a foreign issuer applies for a TWSE primary listing of stock, if its operating revenue derived from construction business as stated in the financial reports represents 20 percent or greater of its total operating revenue, or its gross profit derived from construction business represents 20 percent or greater of its total gross profit, or its operating revenue or gross profit derived from construction business is more than that derived from other business items, during the most recent 2 fiscal years, it shall meet all of the requirements provided in Articles 16 and 17 herein, in which case, the TWSE may issue evidentiary documentation indicating its approval of the listing thereof; in the case of a foreign issuer whose shares have no par value or a par value other than NT$10, the requirement of Article 16, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 shall be calculated on the basis of the net worth reaching NT$600 million or more.
    "Controlled company" in paragraphs 1 and 2 means any of the following circumstances:
  1. Any controlled company in which the foreign issuer directly holds more than 50 percent of the issued voting shares or has contributed more than 50 percent of the capital.
  2. Any controlled company in which the foreign issuer, indirectly through a subsidiary company, holds more than 50 percent of the issued voting shares or has contributed more than 50 percent of the capital.
  3. Any controlled company in which the foreign issuer directly, or indirectly through a subsidiary, holds more than 50 percent of the issued voting shares or has contributed more than 50 percent of the capital.
  4. A company of which a foreign issuer directly or indirectly elects or appoints more than half of the directors for the board of directors.
    If a foreign issuer is a professional investor and its purpose is to directly, or indirectly through a subsidiary company, control the operations of a held company or companies, 70 percent or more of that foreign issuer's operating income in its consolidated financial statement shall be derived from a controlled company or companies.
Article 28-9     The TWSE will approve the application for primary listing of a foreign issuer's stock only after the following persons place in centralized custody in a central securities depository established with the approval of the Competent Authority the stocks comprising their respective individual shareholdings in full as recorded in the listing application documentation and whose sum total is not lower than the percentage specified by the TWSE minus the number of shares provided for public sale upon listing, provided that if the number of shares submitted is insufficient to meet the required percentage, the foreign issuer shall coordinate other shareholders to make up the shortfall.
  1. If the foreign issuer applies for TWSE primary listing pursuant to Article 28-1, paragraph 1, its directors, and shareholders holding more than 10 percent of the total number of shares.
  2. If the foreign issuer applies for TWSE primary listing pursuant to Article 28-1, paragraph 2, its persons required to deposit their shares into central custody are described as the following items, provided that this requirement shall not apply to a recommending securities firm that holds 5 percent or more of the issuer's total issued shares as a result of subscription or trading, during the emerging stock registration period, of securities held for operations:
    1. in case of a cultural and creative enterprise, its directors, shareholders holding more than 5 percent of the total number of shares, and shareholders providing patent rights or technical know-how as capital contribution and holding a position in the company and also holding 0.5 percent or more, or at least 100,000 shares, of the total issued shares of the company at the time of the listing application, provided that this requirement shall not apply to a recommending securities firm holds 5 percent or more of the issuer's total issued shares as a result of subscription or trading, during the emerging stock registration period, of securities held for operations.
    2. in case of a technology-based enterprise, its president, research and development supervisor, and all such persons described in the above item.
    The provisions of Article 10, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, and 6 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the allocation percentage, centralized custody period, withdrawal method, disposal of stocks in centralized custody, and the effect of custody, provided the centralized custody period of a technology enterprise applying for primarylisting pursuant to Article 28-1, paragraph 2 is governed by the proviso of Article 10, paragraph 4 mutatis mutandis.
     A GTSM primary listed company applying for TWSE primary listing shall carry out centralized custody of stocks by mutatis mutandis application of Article 10-2.