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Relevant Laws

Title:Operating Rules for Securities Firms Handling Margin Purchases and Short Sales of Securities (2023.08.17)
Article 54     Where the overall collateral maintenance ratio of the customer margin account is lower than 130 percent, the securities firm shall issue a margin call to the customer demanding the deposit, within two business days from the day the margin call is received, of additional margin collateral for the margin purchase or short sale that falls below the collateral maintenance ratio, to cover the margin deficiency.
    Margin deficiencies that a customer is required to cover under the preceding paragraph shall be calculated by the following formulas:
■ deficiency in margin for margin purchase = original margin purchase amount - (closing price on the day of calculation × number of shares purchased on margin × margin purchase leverage ratio) - (par value, closing price and average closing price of the day of calculation or net asset value per beneficiary unit of the prior business day × unit number of shares of the stock under paragraph 3 and securities deposited as collateral or other merchandise under Article 57 × margin purchase leverage ratio)
■ deficiency in margin for short sale = (closing price on the day of calculation × number of shares sold short × margin percentage required for short sale - initial margin for short sale) + (closing price on the day of calculation × number of shares sold short - original short sale proceeds) - (par value, closing price and average closing price of the day of calculation or net asset value per beneficiary unit of the prior business day × unit number of shares of the securities deposited as collateral under Article 57 or other merchandise).
    In the formula for calculating the deficiency for margin purchase under the preceding paragraph, if the stock under paragraph 3 of the preceding article or the securities deposited as collateral or other merchandise under Article 57 are categorized as book-entry central government bonds, local government bonds, corporate bonds, financial bonds, gold that is registered for trading over the counter, an open-end type securities investment trust fund beneficiary certificate and futures trust fund beneficiary certificate, its financing ratio shall be calculated based on the maximum financing ratio of TWSE or TPEx listings announced by the competent authority; for others that are not eligible for margin purchase or short sale under Article 2 or 3 of the Standards Governing Eligibility of Securities for Margin Purchase and Short Sale or are temporarily suspended under Article 4 or 5 of the same Standards, then the margin purchase leverage ratio shall be set at zero.
    Where trading of securities has been suspended or halted, the collateral maintenance ratio in paragraph 1 of the preceding article and the margin deficiencies required to cover in paragraph 2 of this article shall be calculated based on the closing price of the business day immediately before suspension or halting of trading.
    For purposes of calculation of the collateral maintenance ratio in the preceding article and the margin deficiencies that a customer is required to cover in paragraph 2 of this article, if a closing price is not available for the given day, it shall be calculated as the price determined by the following principles:
  1. When the highest buy price quoted as of market close on the given day is higher than the auction reference price at market opening on the TWSE or the basis price for the opening of trading on the TPEx, the highest buy price quoted will be the price.
  2. When the lowest sell price quoted as of market close on the given day is lower than the auction reference price at market opening on the TWSE or the basis price for the opening of trading on the TPEx, the lowest sell price quoted will be the price.
  3. When the above circumstances are not met, the auction reference price at market opening on the TWSE or the basis price for the opening of trading on the TPEx will be the price.
    The terms "the auction reference price at market opening" and "the basis price for the opening of trading" in the preceding paragraph shall have the meaning specified in Article 58-3, paragraph 4 of the TWSE Operating Rules, or Article 60-1 of the TPEx Trading Rules.
Article 57     A customer may deposit the following securities or other merchandise as additional collateral for the short sale margin and any deficiency the customer is required to cover under Article 54:
  1. TWSE or TPEx listed book-entry central government bonds, local government bonds, corporate bonds, financial bonds.
  2. TWSE or TPEx listed securities whose trading method has not altered or other than those listed on the Taiwan Innovation Board, primary listed on the Taiwan Innovation Board or managed stocks for OTC trading, excluding ETF beneficial certificates being traded in foreign currency.
  3. Gold that is registered for trading over the counter.
  4. If an open-end type securities investment trust fund beneficiary certificate and futures trust fund beneficiary certificate, it must be denominated in NT dollars and of a domestically offered and domestically invested securities investment or a domestically offered and domestically invested futures trust fund which is offered to the general public, including those purchased in the name of a securities firm as the customer.
    The aforesaid securities deposited or other merchandise eligible for margin purchase and short sale as additional collateral may not:
  1. be less than one trading unit if being TWSE or TPEx listed securities and gold;
  2. be less than one trading unit, if being an open-end type securities investment trust fund beneficiary certificate and futures trust fund beneficiary certificate.
  3. be any registered shares issued to and acquired by shareholders or capital contributors as a result of capital increase out of earnings, or capital increase through contribution by company employees out of their bonuses to the industry in which they are serving, or capital increase by a venture capital company out of undistributed earnings, as effected in accordance with Article 13 of the Statute (Act) for Encouragement of Investment or Article 16 or 17 of the Statute (Act) for Upgrading Industries, that have not been transferred and reported for tax purposes.
    Where the securities firm accepts the deposit by the customer of securities or other merchandise that are not owned by the customer as in the first paragraph, as additional collateral to offset against the margin requirement, it shall additionally submit the household registration record and consent letter obtained from the owner.
    If the securities deposited as collateral to offset against a margin requirement under paragraphs 1 and 3 are subject to a 20 percent or more share dividend rate in gratuitous distribution of shares, or the issuer of the securities conducts a demerger and capital reduction, and after the capital reduction, the stock resumes trading and is TWSE or TPEx listed on the same day as the stock of the assignee company of the demerger, the provisions of paragraphs 3, 4, and 5 of Article 53 shall apply to the newly issued rights shares or to the stock of the assignee company of the demerger for which the circumstances set forth in paragraph 2, subparagraph 3 do not exist, and the consent letter under the preceding paragraph shall specify the waiver of the option of income tax deferral.
    A securities firm that accepts a customer using open-end type securities investment trust fund beneficiary certificates for margin purchase and short sale as additional collateral under the name of the securities firm, shall keep a registration log for management purposes and inform relevant information to the Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation ("TDCC"); book-entry operations for centrally deposited securities do not apply.
    A securities firm that accepts a customer using book-entry central government bonds for margin purchase and short sale as additional collateral, shall open a collateral account at the Book-Entry Central Government Securities Clearing Bank for margin sale transfer.