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Provisions regarding securities brokers:
(1) The operating venue of a securities broker shall include the following:
(i) A trading room exclusively for accepting orders for securities trades (including a trading counter for over-the-counter trading).
(ii) An area for payment (or delivery) and receipt of securities and funds.
(iii) An area for account opening.
(iv) A securities information reading room.
(v) An area for collection of proxy forms.
(v) Other business areas.
The sites for operating venues referred to in (i) through (iv) of the preceding paragraph shall be limited to stand-alone structures, duplexes, connected structures, or adjacent independent structures joined by passageways built with approval from the building administration authority.
(2) Trading rooms shall be established within the confines of the operating venue, and the floors on which the trading rooms are established shall have no partitioning walls except for support columns, elevators, and stairway exits.
(3) Trading rooms shall be equipped with the following:
(i) A trading information display system.
(ii) A market information display system.
(iii) A trading counter, with the following facilities and conditions:
(a) Where two or more trading counters are set up on the same floor, there shall be no partitions between the counters, with the exception of support columns, elevators, or stairway exits.
(b) Telephones for use in authorized trading and terminals exclusively for authorized trading of securities shall be installed.
(c) Over-the-counter trading and trading on the Taiwan Stock Exchange ("TSE") centralized securities trading market may be performed at the same counter.
(iv) An announcement board for posting administrative orders issued by the competent authority, announcements by the TSE, important information regarding securities firms’ operations, and ex-dividend and ex-rights dates for stocks of listed companies.
(v) Terminals for the TSE Observation Post shall be installed for the use of investors.
(4) If auxiliary trading information displays systems such as wall-mounted television displays or multi-function display systems are installed in operating areas other than the trading room, no authorized trading of securities may take place in any such operating area where such a system or display is installed.
(5) The area for payment and receipt of securities and funds and the area for collection of proxy forms may be established at a different location than the trading room, and shall be prominently marked as such.
(6) All facilities of a securities broker's branch offices shall conform to the standards for the securities broker's head office.
(7) Computer facilities.
(8) The following shall apply in the case of a partial relocation or expansion of a securities firm or its branch office:
(i) Prior to use, the trading room shall be inspected by personnel dispatched from the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (hereafter, "the TSEC") (to assure that furnishings are complete and ready for immediate use); amendment of registration shall be completed; and re-issuance of the permit and certificate of license, where required, shall also be completed.
(ii) Prior to use of the area for payment and receipt of securities and funds, the area for account opening, the securities information reading room, and the area for collection of proxy forms a report shall be filed for TSEC approval, including a floor plan and photographs (when necessary, the TSEC may dispatch personnel for an on-site inspection); amendments to registration shall also be filed; and re-issuance of the permit and certificate of license, where required, shall also be completed.
(iii) Other operating areas:
a. Prior to use of an operating area for a consulting business, a floor plan and photographs (and, for the initial establishment of such operating area, a photocopy of the competent authority's letter of approval for concurrent operation of a consulting business or a photocopy of a permit and certificate of license for the consulting business) shall be submitted to the TSEC for approval (when necessary, the TSEC may dispatch personnel for an on-site inspection). In addition, prior to use of the operating area, amendments to registration shall also be filed, and re-issuance of the permit and certificate of license, where required, shall be completed.
b. For other operating areas, amendments to registration shall be filed within 15 days after use of the area begins. Re-issuance of the permit and certificate of license, where required, shall also be completed, and computerized information facilities already installed may not be provided for the use of investors [prior to re-issuance].
A securities broker or its branch office shall notify the TSEC by letter when any alteration is made in the facilities or their use within the original operating venue; with the exception of those not requiring amendment of registration or re-issuance of a permit and certificate of license, methods of handling for such shall be the same as in the preceding subparagraph.
(9) A securities firm may establish a securities information reading room (below, "reading room") in conformance with the following rules:
(i) The reading room shall be established within the securities broker's operating venue.
(ii) Within the reading room, the securities broker may not execute a contract for authorized trading of securities with a client, accept an order for a trade, carry out settlement of a securities trade, or engage in any other activity similar to securities firm business.
(iii) A securities broker may not provide specialized terminals for competitive bidding for use by clients within the reading room.
(iv) A securities broker may not place restrictions on who may use the reading room or collect fees for its use.
(v) The TSEC may at any time dispatch personnel to inspect a securities broker's reading room, and the securities firm may not refuse or evade such inspection.
(10) Securities brokers accepting only trades from overseas Chinese and foreign nationals, or accepting trades only by telephone, IC card, voice messaging, the Internet, or other media for electronic transaction shall be equipped with computer facilities, telephones for use in accepting authorized trades, and specialized terminals for authorized trading of securities.
(11) In addition to operating in conformance with the provisions of standards for sites and facilities adopted by the Federation of Futures Industry Associations, a securities firm that concurrently operates a futures business or a futures trading support business shall also observe the following regulations:
(i) Trading counter: A common trading counter may be used by a securities brokerage department and a futures department. Notwithstanding the above, however, the trading counter used by an associated person of a securities firm who is also qualified as an associated person of a futures commission merchant shall be clearly separated from the trading counter used by a person qualified only as an associated person of a securities firm or of futures commission merchant.
(ii) Account-opening areas: Counters used by securities brokerage departments for opening client accounts shall be clearly separated from those that futures trading departments use for opening client accounts.
(12) For a securities firm that concurrently operates a securities investment consulting business or a futures consulting business, in addition to complying with regulations governing securities investment consulting enterprise sites and facilities or the provisions of standards for sites and facilities adopted by the Federation of Futures Industry Associations, the head office's consulting department shall have an office area that is independent and separated from other departments, and shall have an access control system installed.
(13) A securities broker that undertakes the collection of proxy forms shall have a clearly marked area for the collection of proxy forms, which may not be set up within the trading counter.
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