1.    After-Hours Trading Session Introduced in Taiwan Futures Market on 15 May 2017
To provide traders with more comprehensive hedging channels and trading opportunities, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) oversaw the launch of the futures after-hours trading session by the Taiwan Futures Exchange on 15 May 2017. In the initial stage, after-hours trading will be allowed in products for which there is relatively high market demand (e.g. TAIEX futures and options) and in products with international characters and products that involve international cooperation (e.g. FX products and international index products).
2.    Passive ETFs and Index Funds Permitted to Invest in High-Yield Bonds
To help securities investment trust enterprises offer diversified ETF products, the FSC issued an order under Articles 8 and 10 of the Regulations Governing Securities Investment Trust Funds on 17 May 2017. The order permits ETFs and index funds to invest in high-yield bonds for purposes of investing in the index’s compositions or fulfilling the index replication strategies.
3.    Deregulation of Brokerage Trading of Foreign ETFs by Securities Firms for Non-Professional Investors
To satisfy demand by non-professional investors for more flexible asset allocation, and to bring investors under the protection of the Financial Consumer Protection Act and foster the development of securities firm business, the FSC issued Order No. Financial-Supervisory-Securities-Firms-1060003019 on 19 April 2017, which deregulates brokerage trading of foreign ETFs by securities firms for non-professional investors. Under the order, non-professional investors, when meeting specific qualifying requirements, may place brokerage orders for leveraged ETFs not exceeding 2x and inverse/short ETFs not exceeding 1x.