Taiwan Stock Exchange - Rules & Regulations Directory

Amended Article

Title:

Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules Governing Review of Securities Listings 

Amended Date: 2024.03.11 (Articles 4, 28-1, 40 amended,English version coming soon)
Current English version amended on 2023.09.05 
Categories: Primary Market > Review

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    A domestic issuer that applies for the listing of stocks at the TIB must comply with the government’s industrial development strategies, have key core technologies and the ability to innovate or have an innovative operational model, and should meet the following qualifications:
  1. Years of establishment: Has been around for at least two years since its incorporation under the Company Act at the time of application for listing.
  2. Has issued 10 million or more shares at the time of application for listing.
  3. Market value and financial standards: Must meet one the following standards at the time of application for listing:
    1. Market value is NT$1 billion or more, total operating revenue as stated in the financial reports for the most recent four quarters is not less than NT$100 million and the applicant must prove it has the working capital sufficient for 12 months after listing in the market.
    2. For an applicant doing business in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, its market value is NT$2 billion or more, and it must prove it has not less than 125 percent of the working capital required for 12 months after listing in the market. If an applicant is developing new medicine, its core products must have passed stage 1 of a clinical trial.
    3. Market value is NT$4 billion or more, and the applicant must prove it has not less than 125 percent of the working capital required for 12 months after listing in the market.
  4. Dispersion of share ownership: The number of registered shareholders is 50 or more. Excluding company insiders and any juristic persons in which such insiders hold more than 50 percent of the shares, registered shareholders hold 5 percent or more of the total issued shares, or at least 5 million shares.
  5. An applicant listed in the food industry or with income from dining and beverage services exceeding 50 percent of its total operating revenues in the most recent fiscal year must meet the requirements in the following items:
    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.
  6. Recommended by 2 or more securities underwriters.
    A foreign issuer that applies for the listing of stocks at the TIB must meet, in addition to the requirements in the subparagraphs 2 to 6 of the preceding paragraph, the following qualifications:
  1. Meet the application regulations under the Act Governing Relations between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area, provided that if the people, juristic persons, group or other institutions directly or indirectly own shares or invest in the issuer for more than 30 percent of its value, or have control over the issuer, it must obtain an approval from the competent authority on a case-by-case basis.
  2. Years of establishment: The applicant or any of its subordinate companies must have 2 or more years of business records.
  3. The inspection institution under item B of subparagraph 5 of the preceding paragraph may be replaced by a laboratory or inspection institution certified by the local competent authority, international certification institution or an institution appointed by its competent authority.
    The TWSE will agree to list its stock of a domestic issuer or a foreign issuer applying for the listing of its stock at the TIB in the preceding two paragraphs only if the value of the number of the securities to be listed and available for trading multiplied by the offering price for the price at which the security opens on its first day in the initial public offering has met the minimum requirement on the market value applicable to its application.
    A recommending securities underwriter should issue an evaluation opinion on the requirements on application for listing, i.e. compliance with the government’s industrial development strategies, key core technologies and the ability to innovate or an innovative operational model, in the first paragraph.
    The core products in item B of subparagraph 3 of paragraph 1 means the biotechnological and pharmaceutical products that are the focus of a domestic issuer or foreign issuer in its engagement in development, application and commercialization of new drugs at the time of application for listing.
    Article 28-2, paragraph 1 applies mutatis mutandis to the definition of securities underwriter in subparagraph 6 of paragraph 1.
    Financial reports as referred to in this chapter shall be governed mutatis mutandis by Article 7, paragraphs 1 and 2 in the case of a domestic issuer, or by Article 28-3, paragraphs 3 and 4 in the case of a foreign issuer.

40
    After one full year from the date of listing of a TIB listed company or a TIB primary listed company, it may apply to the TWSE for being relisted as listed company or primary listed company in accordance with Chapters II and III of these Rules.
    Before the company in the preceding paragraph is relisted as listed or primary listed company for listing and trading shall appoint a securities underwriter to handle prelisting public sale of all its shares stated in its listing application documents at the allocation ratio, after deducting such number of shares reserved for subscription by the company’s employees and those offered for subscription by lead securities underwriter in accordance with the applicable regulations under the Company Act, through issue of new shares by cash offering in accordance with the regulations of firm commitment underwriting of securities under Article 71, paragraph 1 of the Securities and Exchange Act.
    The shares to be allocated for public sale in the preceding paragraph are limited to shares of common stocks.
    A TIB listed company or a TIB primary listed company relisted as listed company or primary listed company shall place their shares in central custody in accordance with Articles 10 and 28-9.
    For personnel who shall place the shares in central custody in accordance with the preceding paragraph, except for those who already did so at the time of TIB listing, in which case they shall keep the shares in central custody until the expiration of the original central custody period, the rest of them shall place the shares in central custody in accordance with the regulations, and the central custody period shall be handled in accordance with the following manner:
  1. Where Article 10, paragraph 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis, all securities may be withdrawn only after full six months from the first day of listing and trading.
  2. Where Article 10, the proviso of paragraph 4 shall apply mutatis mutandis, one half of securities may be withdrawn only after full six months from the first day of listing and trading, and all securities may be withdrawn only after a full year from the first day of listing and trading.
    Under the circumstances in the preceding paragraph, the TWSE may request the relevant personnel to place the shares in central custody for the period prescribed in the preceding paragraph if it deems necessary.

Data Source:Taiwan Stock Exchange - Rules & Regulations Directory
twse-regulation.twse.com.tw