1.FSC Holds 2020 Ceremony to Recognize Securities and Futures Enterprises That Have Performed Well in Implementing the Treating Customers Fairly Principles

On 19 August 2020, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) held a 2020 Business Liaison and Recognition Ceremony for the Securities and Futures Enterprise Treating Customers Fairly Principles Assessment Mechanism. At the ceremony, the FSC gave special praise to the enterprises that performed in the top 20 percent in the assessment results. The FSC''s presentation described the assessment mechanism, pointed out the strengths and weakness of the findings in the assessments, and gave recommendations for enhancing the enterprises'' continuing implementation of the Principles. Enterprises that performed outstandingly also shared their practical experiences for peer enterprises to learn from one another and mutually improve their practices and methods in protecting the rights and interests of financial consumers.

 

2.FSC Issued Corporate Governance 3.0 -Sustainable Development Roadmap, to Strengthen the Competitiveness of Taiwan''s Capital Markets 

To continue consolidating corporate governance in Taiwan and promote sustainable corporate development, the FSC issued Corporate Governance 3.0 -Sustainable Development Roadmap on 25 August 2020. Among the key measures to be implemented under the Roadmap are the following: requiring that independent directors make up no less than one-third of the directors, and that half or more of the independent directors serve no more than three consecutive terms; strengthening the disclosure requirements for sustainability reporting based on international guidelines (including those of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures [TCFD] and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board [SASB]); expanding the scope of companies required to prepare and file sustainability reports, and expanding the applicable scope for requiring third-party assurance for sustainability reporting; phasing in requirements that TSWE- and TPEx-listed companies publish their unaudited financial information, and publish their annual financial reports earlier after the end of a fiscal year; studying measures to strengthen the operational impartiality of companies that handle their own shareholder services, and enhancing the transparency of e-voting results; lowering the daily maximum number of TWSE- and TPEx-listed companies that may hold annual general shareholder''s meetings; expanding the scope of stewardship principles and practices; establishing a negotiation mechanism between international proxy advisors and listed companies; expanding the industrial chain of stewardship in Taiwan; establishing a sustainability market to promote sustainable development-related products such as sustainable bonds, social  responsibility bonds, and green bonds.

The Corporate Governance 3.0 -Sustainable Development Roadmap aims to drive positive development and interaction between enterprises, investors, and stakeholders, create a sound environmental, social and governance (ESG) ecosystem, and strengthen the global competitiveness of Taiwan''s capital markets, through approaches including strengthening the duties and functions of boards of directors, enhancing information transparency, strengthening communication with stakeholders, encouraging stewardship and deepening a corporate culture of sustainable governance, and providing diversified products.

 

3.Relaxation of the Standards Governing Eligibility of Securities for Margin Purchase and Short Sale

To invigorate trading on the TPEx market and provide investors with greater flexibility in trading TPEx-listed stocks, the FSC on 5 August 2020 amended Article 2 of the Standards Governing Eligibility of Securities for Margin Purchase and Short Sale. The amendment relaxes the eligibility standards for margin purchase and short sale of TPEx-listed companies'' shares by exempting companies with paid-in capital of NT$600 million from the minimum profitability standards regarding operating income and net income before tax.