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Newsletter No: 024 |
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I. News and Events (Chinese) Selected provisions of the Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Overseas Securities by Issuers and the Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Foreign Securities Issuers have been amended to harmonize the amended Article 22 of the Securities and Exchange Act. Effective registration is applied to all cases of securities public offering and issuance, abolishing the prior approval system. The amendments enhance supervision of private placements of securities and simplify review procedures for the offering and issuance of straight corporate bonds by foreign issuers, as well as enhance the disclosure of overseas information with respect to domestic and foreign issuers.
2.Streamlined information reporting procedures for securities underwriters To simplify underwriting procedures, and in response to the 11 January 2006 abrogation of Article 78 of the Securities and Exchange Act requiring securities underwriters to file the underwriting related information with the Competent Authority for recordation, the Regulations Governing Securities Firms were amended on 14 April 2006 by the addition of Article 29-1. The new provision requires underwriters to establish permanent files stating the sales results and the number of its own subscription for reference.
3. Amendment of announcement and filing checklist for financial reports of securities firms The amendment of Announcement and Filing Checklist for Annual, Half-Year, and Quarterly Financial Reports of Securities Firms was issued on 25 April 2006. The amended checklist requires that financial statements must include the signature or personal seal of persons as described under Article 14, paragraph 3 of the Securities and Exchange Act, and in addition, a declaration stating that the content of a financial report contains no misrepresentations or nondisclosures, with effect on the annual financial reports for the 2005 fiscal year. Except that, the other requirements will take effect on the first quarter financial report of 2006. II. Market Wrap-up As of the end of April, 693 companies were listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, an increase of two against the previous month. The total capital issued was NT$ 5,439.78 billion, an increase of NT$5.49 billion over the preceding month, and the market capitalization was NT$ 17,482.92 billion, an increase of NT$ 1,566.42 billion over the preceding month. As of the end of April, 513 companies were listed on the GreTai Securities Market, an increase of one against the previous month. The total capital issued was NT$ 657.20 billion, an increase of NT$1.38 billion against the preceding month, and the market capitalization was NT$ 1,530.06 billion, an increase of NT$115.21 billion against the previous month. In April, the trading value of shares on the Taiwan Stock Exchange was NT$ 2,354.26 billion, an increase of NT$ 270.83 billion over the previous month, while the trading volume was NT$70.07 billion, an increase of NT$ 18.28 billion shares compared with the previous month. As of the end of April, the accumulated net inward remittance of foreign investors was US$ 121.55 billion, an increase of US$7.13 billion over March. There are currently 142 securities firms, 23 futures commission merchants, 45 securities investment trust enterprises and 200 securities investment consulting enterprises.
III. Q&A 1. Investment quotas for foreign investors Under the newly amended Regulations Governing Investment in Securities by Overseas Chinese and Foreign Investors, foreign investors are divided into two categories: foreign institutional investors (FINIs) and foreign individual investors (FIDIs). While FIDIs are subject to a US$5 million investment quota, FINIs are free of an upper limit on investment. However, in a few specific industries foreign investors are still subject to investment ceilings under relevant acts or regulations. 2. Investment scope for offshore foreign investors The scope of investment in Taiwan securities markets open to offshore foreign investors is as follows: 1. Stocks and bond conversion entitlement certificates of listed/GTSM companies. 2. Listed/GTSM beneficiary certificates. 3. Government bonds, financial bonds (including subordinated financial bonds), straight corporate bonds, and convertible bonds. 4. Taiwan Depositary Receipts. 5. Open-ended beneficiary certificates. 6. Underwritten stocks of listed companies in secondary public offerings. 7. Underwritten stocks in IPOs prior to initial listing and underwritten stocks in rights offerings. 8. Underwritten stocks in IPOs prior to initial GTSM listing and underwritten GTSM stocks in rights offerings. 9. Beneficiary certificates prior to initial listing. 10. Call/put warrants. 11. NT dollar bonds issued in Taiwan by international financial organizations. 12. Preferred shares issued by listed/GTSM companies. 13. GTSM Emerging Stocks. Additionally, Funds that have been duly and timely remitted into Taiwan for the purchase of domestic securities and that have not yet been invested may be used as follows (with the total value of such use not to exceed 30 percent of the amount remitted in, except in the case of outright bond trading): 1. Investment in government bonds, time deposits, and money market instruments; trading of NTD interest-rate derivatives on over-the-counter. 2. Investments in NT dollar time deposits shall be limited to duration of three months, with a one-time extension of three months allowed at expiration. 3. Investments in money market instruments, limited to bills within 90 days of expiration.
3. Requirements over the outward remittance of investment principal, capital gains and the other investment gains by foreign investors. 1. After receiving permission to invest in Taiwan, foreign investors may apply to remit investment capital and investment earnings out of the ROC. However, outward remittances of capital gains and stock dividends may be made from realized earnings only. 2. Applications for foreign exchange remittance for investment capital and earnings shall be handled in accordance with the Act for the Regulation of Foreign Exchange (under the purview of the Central Bank). 3. When a foreign investor intends to repatriate investment earnings, the investor's agent or representative shall submit documents evidencing the filing of a tax return and payment of taxes by an agent/representative approved by the tax authorities and carry out exchange settlement in accordance with the Act for the Regulation of Foreign Exchange; however, during a period when assessment of ROC income tax on capital gains from securities transactions is suspended, the agent or representative may submit a tax clearance certificate from the tax authorities and carry out exchange settlement in accordance with the Act for the Regulation of Foreign Exchange. 4. Exercising shareholder's rights for offshore foreign investors 1. The voting rights of a foreign institutional investor outside of Taiwan ("offshore foreign institutional investor") holding shares in a public company in Taiwan may be exercised as follows: (1) Exercise electronically or by means of a written form in accordance with Article 177-1 of the Company Act; (2) Exercise through appointment of a company conforming to Article 3, paragraph 2 of the Regulations Governing Handling of Stock Affairs by Public Companies; (3) Exercise through appointment of a domestic agent or representative to exercise voting rights at the shareholder meeting; (4) Exercise through an appointment by the domestic agent or representative, as authorized by the offshore foreign institutional investor, of a party other than the domestic agent or representative to exercise voting rights at the shareholder meeting; 2. An offshore foreign institutional investor that appoints a company as indicated in point 2 of the preceding paragraph or a person as indicated in points 3 and 4 therein to exercise voting rights at a shareholder meeting shall in each case clearly indicate in the letter of appointment its instructions regarding the exercise of voting rights on each proposal. 3. An offshore foreign institutional investor may not give a proxy form issued by the public company to a proxy solicitor or proxy agent. 5. Restrictions on investment of money market instruments for offshore foreign investors The government's opening of Taiwan’s securities market to offshore foreign investors is primarily oriented toward drawing investment into securities on the centralized exchange market. Investing in money market instruments is purely for short-term cash management needs. The cap of 30 percent should be sufficient for this purpose. Therefore, currently there are no plans to raise the ceiling. 6. Prefunding Issues in Taiwan 1. Domestic financial institutions in Taiwan since 4 May 2004 have been allowed to provide intraday credit to foreign investors to assist foreign investors who, due to time differences, are unable to make timely remittance of funds to complete settlement. 2. In the past, Taiwan's securities market imposed severe penalties for settlement default (a 3-year ban from trading). To avoid fail trade, some securities firms instituted their own requirement on foreign investors to provide settlement funds in advance (i.e., prefunding) when they place an order, causing inconvenience to foreign investors. A late settlement system has therefore been adopted for foreign investors, under certain circumstances, to postpone settlement until 6 p.m. of the third business day after the date of the trade, and extending the deadline for securities firms to report default by foreign investors to the third business day after the date of the trade. Besides, the TSEC has amended Article 76 of the Operating Rules of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation on August 1, 2005, repealing the provision that an investor may not open an account and engage in trading for a period of three years after a conclusive finding of settlement default. 3. On 28 April 2006, the Financial Supervisory Commission announced the draft Regulations Governing Securities Firms in Handling Securities Business Money Lending. The Regulations will allow borrowing and lending of funds by securities firms in securities business involving foreign investors; for clients using securities purchased as collateral, the financing period will extend from the second to the fifth business day after the transaction date (T+2 to T+5). 7. Disclosure of the investment positions of foreign investors The FSC does not disclose investment information of individual foreign investors, but foreign investors are nevertheless obligated to comply with reporting requirements. 8. Locking period of stocks The trading of stocks held by foreign investors is not subject to a "locking period". 9. Off-exchange transactions 1. Article 150 of the Securities and Exchange Act provides that trading of listed securities shall be conducted on a centralized securities trading market operated by a stock exchange. However, paragraph 4 of the same Article empowers the Competent Authority to make provisions for permitting off-exchange transactions in exceptional situations. For example, a foreign investor who has received approval from the Investment Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs under the Act Governing Investment by Foreign Nationals to transfer assets to another foreign investor may do so through off-exchange trading. Many foreign investors have invested in Taiwan stocks through such off-exchange channels over the years. 2. Under current law, securities listed on the GreTai Securities Market (GTSM) can be traded off-market. But, in those cases of securities for which the relevant authorities have duly set a foreign investment ceiling in accordance with law, foreign investors (who must have obtained approval or registration in accordance with the Regulations Governing Securities Investment by Overseas Chinese and Foreign Investors) are required to trade such securities through the GTSM trading system. However, only a very few OTC stocks are subject to this requirement. Most GTSM stocks can also be traded by foreign investors via price negotiation at the business places of securities firms. 3. After each market close, the TSEC also provides auction and tender offer systems in which securities prices are negotiable to satisfy various investors’ demands. 10.Foreign ownership restrictions Taiwan lifted limits on total/individual foreign shareholding in public companies from 30 December 2000. Applicable acts and regulations may in a few instances limit the percentage of equity holdings by foreign nationals in companies in certain industries (such as posts, telecommunications, and shipping) to meet policy needs related to national interests in the economic, social, or cultural spheres. Most developed countries have similar policies, and the practice in Taiwan is in line with developed-market standards. 11. Odd-lot trading In the past, offshore foreign investors were permitted to sell stocks in odd lots, but not to buy them. To meet the varied trading and investment demands of foreign investors, the FSC announced on 22 July 2005 that offshore foreign investors are also permitted to buy odd lots.
1. A foreign investor may open multiple depositary accounts in Taiwan, as long as each account bears the same investor registration number. Assets may be transferred freely between such accounts, without the need for a buy-sell process. 2. The FSC further announced that transferring of assets accounts involved belonging to the same final beneficiary legal entity and there is no violation of off-exchange trading rules. Moreover, the FSC has eased rules relating to signing documents by a great number of final beneficiaries. 13. Evaluation of the MSCI revision of the Limited Investability Factor Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) raised the Limited Investability Factor (LIF) applied to the MSCI Taiwan Index to 1 from the former 0.75 effective after market close on 31 May. This adjustment has raised the international standing of Taiwan's securities market and pushed Taiwan into the top spot in the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index, and has helped to boost investor interest in Taiwan stocks, attract a stronger influx of foreign capital, and enliven and expand Taiwan's securities markets. 14. Reformation for FTSE
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行政院金管會證期局第二十四期新聞信 壹、 重要公告 一、 修正「發行人募集與發行海外有價證券處理準則」及「外國發行人募集與發行有價證券處理準則」 為配合證券交易法第22條之修正，爰修正「發行人募集與發行海外有價證券處理準則」及「外國發行人募集與發行有價證券處理準則」部分條文，取消募集與發行有價證券案件兼採申請核准制，全面採申報生效制、強化對發行人私募有價證券之控管及簡化外國發行人募集與發行普通公司債案件審查程序、加強本國及外國發行人海外資訊之揭露。
二、 簡化證券承銷商資料申報作業 為簡化承銷作業並因應95年1月11日修正公布之「證券交易法」刪除第78條有關證券承銷商應將承銷銷售相關資料申報主管機關備查之規定，爰於95年4月14日配合修正證券商管理規則增訂第29條之1規定，明定證券商承銷有價證券應將銷售情形及自己取得之數量等資料建檔備查。
三、 修訂證券商財務報告公告申報檢查表 95年4月25日發布修正「證券商（年度、半年度、季）財務報告公告申報檢查表」，修正後之檢查表除申報書件項下有關財務報表須經符合證券交易法第14條第3項規定之人員簽名或蓋章，並出具財務報告內容無虛偽或隱匿之聲明，係自申報94年度財務報告起開始適用外，餘自申報95年第1季財務報告起開始適用。
貳、 重要指標 截至2006年4月底止（數字資料將於5月15日計算完成後再行加入）
參、Q&A 一、外資申請投資證券之限額 (Investment quota for foreign investors) 答：依新修訂之「華僑及外國人投資證券管理辦法」，外國投資人將區分為境外自然人及境外機構投資人二類。其中境外自然人有投資額度五百萬美元之限制，境外機構投資人則無投資額度限制。惟少數特定產業依法律規定仍然對外資持股有上限限制。
二、外資之投資範圍 (Investment scope for foreign investors) 答：外資投資台灣證券市場之投資範圍以下列為限： （一）上市、上櫃公司股票及債券換股權利證書。 （二）上市、上櫃受益憑證。 （三）政府債券、金融債券、普通公司債及轉換公司債。 (「金融債 券」含次順位金融債券) （四）台灣存託憑證。 （五）開放型受益憑證。 （六）公開招募承銷之上市公司之股票。 （七）初次上市前承銷及現金增資承銷股票。 （八）初次上櫃前承銷及現金增資承銷股票。 （九）初次上市前受益憑證。 （十）認購(售)權證。 （十一）國際金融組織來台發行之新台幣債券。 （十二）上市、櫃公司發行之特別股。 （十三）於櫃檯買賣中心掛牌之興櫃股票。
另，依規定期限內匯入資金尚未投資於國內證券之運用，（總額度上限不得超過其匯入資金之百分之三十，但投資買賣斷公債不在此限）： 1. 投資於公債、定期存款、貨幣市場工具、從事店頭新臺幣利率衍生性金融商品交易。 2. 投資於新台幣定期存款者，其期限不得超過三個月，期滿得續存三個月，但以一次為限。 3. 投資於貨幣市場信用工具者，以距到期日九十天以內之票券為限。
三、外資之本金、資本利得及其他投資收益之匯出規定(Requirements over the outward remittance of investment principal, capital gains and the other investment gains by foreign investors) 答： （一） 依規定，外資經許可投資國內證券，其投資本金及投資收益，得申請結匯。外資投資國內證券所得之收益申請結匯，其資本利得及股票股利部分以已實現者為限。 （二） 外資投資本金及收益申請結匯，應依管理外匯條例（中央銀行法規）等有關規定辦理結匯。 （三） 外資投資收益之結匯，應檢附經稽徵機關核准委託代理申報及繳納稅捐之證明文件，依管理外匯條例等有關規定辦理結匯。惟於證券交易所得稅停徵期間，代理人或代表人檢附該管稽徵機關出具之完稅證明，依管理外匯條例等有關規定辦理結匯。
四、外資如何行使股東權利(Exercising shareholder's rights for foreign investors) 答： （一） 境外外國機構投資人持有公開發行公司之股份者，其表決權之行使方式如下： 1. 依公司法第177條之1規定以書面或電子方式行使； 2. 指派符合「公開發行股票公司股務處理準則」第3條第2 項規定條件之公司行使之； 3. 指派國內代理人或代表人出席行使之； 4. 由指定之國內代理人或代表人依境外外國機構投資人之授權，指派國 內代理人或代表人以外之人出席行使之。 （二） 境外外國機構投資人指派符合前項2之公司或3、4之人員出席股東 會，均應於指派書上就各項議案行使表決權之指示予以明確載明。 （三） 境外外國機構投資人不得將公司印發之委託書交付徵求人或受託代理人。
五、外資投資貨幣市場工具之限制 (Restriction on the investment of money market instruments for foreign investors) 答：政府開放外資投資國內證券市場是希望外資以投資集中交易市場證券為主，投資於短期貨幣市場工具為短期資金調度需要（詳見第二題）。30%上限投資於短期貨幣市場工具應足以因應資金調度需要，故目前暫無提高30%上限的計畫。
六、目前在台灣面臨的預繳款項問題 (Prefunding Issues in Taiwan) 答： （一） 我國已於2004年5月份開放國內金融機構得對外國投資人辦理「日中墊款」，以協助解決外國投資人因為時差原因，而未能及時匯入資金進行交割之問題。 （二） 我國證券市場對違約交割原本訂有三年不得交易之罰責，加以對正常交易過程中可能因不可抗力因素致須延遲交割情事，部分券商爰自行要求外資在下單時即應備妥交割款（亦即所謂「資金提前到位」，或pre-funding）。為解決外資投資人之困擾，故於94年5月4日公布「遲延交割」方案，允許外資投資人若遇特定情況，得申報遲延交割至成交日後第三營業日下午六時；或證券商申報違約之最後期限延後為成交日後第三營業日。臺灣證券交易所另於94年8月1日修正該公司「營業細則」第76條，廢止投資人違約交割結案後3年內不得開戶買賣之規定。 （三） 證券商辦理證券業務借貸款項管理辦法草案，本會於95年4月28日預告，將開放證券商辦理外國投資人證券業務借貸款項，客戶以其買進證券為擔保者，其融通期限為成交日次二營業日至次五營業日。
七、外資投資資料之揭露 (Disclosure of the investment positions of foreign investors) 答： 個別外資投資之資料，係屬投資人之投資行為，本會不對外揭露，但外資仍有申報之義務。
八、外資投資當地股票有無閉鎖期之限制 (Locking period of stocks) 答： 現行規定，外資投資台灣證券市場，所持有股票之買賣並無須持有一定期限之限制。
九、場外交易 (Off-exchange transaction) 答： （一） 證交法第一五０條規定，上市有價證券之買賣，應於證券交易所開設之有價證券集中交易市場為之。但該條文第四款亦授權主管機關得規範允許場外交易之例外情況，例如經經濟部投審會依外國人投資條例核准讓售予其他外國人之外資亦可採場外交易。歷年來已有多家外資藉此管道投資台股。 （二） 依現行規定，上櫃股票可進行場外交易，但經依華僑及外國人投資證券管理辦法核准或登記之華僑及外國人，其所買賣之上櫃股票為依法經各該目的事業主管機關訂有投資比例上限者，應透過櫃檯買賣中心之交易系統買賣。惟受此規範之上櫃股票為數甚少，大部分之上櫃股票，外資亦可與證券商以議價之方式進行交易。 （三） 目前集中交易市場收盤後，尚提供拍賣、標購等交易制度，其交易價格具有相當彈性，可滿足投資人之需求。
十、有關外資持股比例之限制 (Foreign ownership restrictions) 答： 我國已於89.12.30取消華僑及外國人對發行公司股票之整體暨個別投資比例限制，惟少數產業（例如郵政、電信、航運）基於民生、經濟、社會及文化政策考量，依其主管機關之法令仍存在對外資投資之比例限制。鑒於其他已開發國家亦有基於類似考量及政策需求，設定類似之限制，我國情形應符合已開發市場國家之標準。
十一、零股交易 答： 過去境外華僑及外國人僅得賣出、不得買入零股，為滿足外資各種交易及投資需求，本會已於94年7月22日發函開放境外華僑及外國人得買賣零股股票。
十二、 開放境外華僑及外國人不同ID但最終受益人相同，得進行資產自由移轉 答： （一） 同一ID之外資得開立多元帳戶，其資產亦得自由移轉而毋需透過買賣程序。 （二） 本會已進一步開放不同ID之外資在最終受益人相同，且不違反場外交易之原則下，得進行資產自由移轉，並放寬受益人眾多情況下之簽署相關規定。
十三、MSCI提升台股比重情形及影響
答：摩根士丹利資本國際公司（MSCI）於5月31日收盤後將台股限制投資因子（LIF）由現行0.75調升至1，不僅提升國內證券市場在國際上之地位，提高投資人購買台股之意願，更強化引導國外資金投入我國股市，對活化市場資金動能及擴大市場規模，均有相當大的助益。
十四、推動富時專案情形 (Reformation for FTSE) 答： （一） 國際知名指數編製機構英國富時指數有限公司（FTSE）於去（93）年9月發布之「國家諮詢報告」，宣布將我國及南韓之證券市場由「已開發市場臨時觀察名單」提昇至「已開發市場觀察名單」，是以本會於93年11月組成專案小組，除就制度面進行檢討並陸續開放相關措施外，並於94年5月至香港、新加坡、紐約、波士頓、倫敦及愛丁堡等地，對外界進行宣導。 （二） 為使我國證券市場列為已開發市場，本會陸續推動各項自由化與國際化相關開放措施，如實施外資遲延交割機制、擴大外資參與有價證券借貸、實施新外資簡化登記制度、實施不同外資ＩＤ移轉資產簡化措施、開放場外交易新制、開放外資從事非避險性期貨交易及開立綜合帳戶等，前揭開放措施將有助於我國證券市場制度與國際制度接軌。
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