Securities
1.Amendment to Article 14 of Securities and Exchange Act
On 7 August 2024, the President announced the amendments to Article 14 of the “Securities and Exchange Act.” The amendment is mainly to add that the company shall stipulate in its Articles of Incorporation that it will adjust salaries or allocate remuneration to grassroots employees based on a certain percentage of surplus profit, provided that the company’s accumulated losses shall have been covered. Furthermore, the amount of salary adjustment or remuneration distribution may be deducted from the amount of income of the profit-seeking enterprise for the then-current year.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Amy Su
Labor
2.Announcement of Draft Amendment to Enforcement Rules of Labor Standards Act
On 31 July 2024, the Ministry of Labor (MOL) announced the draft amendment to “Article 15 of the Enforcement Rules of the Labor Standards Act” for public consultation. We summarize below:
As the employee is only protected for wage claims owed by the employer within six (6) months prior to the suspension, liquidation or bankruptcy declaration of the employer’s business under the current provision, the applicability of the provision has been relaxed to include arrear wages owed by the employer within five (5) before the suspension, liquidation or bankruptcy declaration, provided that such arrear wage does not exceed six months overdue. Additionally, a five-year transitional period has been added, which applies retroactively to ensure that the employee may receive adequate payment from Arrear Wage Payment Fund. If the payment amount calculated under the old provision is less, the employee may also claim the shortage of the amount.
Reported by: David Tsai / Joe Liao
3.Amendments to Labor Union Act
On 12 August 2024, the MOL announced the draft amendment to the “Labor Union Act”. We summarize below:
A workplace is defined as one with independent personnel, budget, and accounting, and is required to register as a factory, business, or commercial entity according to the law. To clearly define the independent personnel, budget, and accounting mentioned, the following criteria must be met:
(1)The workplace has the authority to make personnel decisions regarding hiring or dismissal of workers;
(2)The workplace prepares and implements its own budget; and
(3)The workplace has an accounting unit or dedicated accounting personnel, and maintains accounts to calculate profit and loss.
Reported by: David Tsai / Scott Chuang
Financials
4.Self-Regulatory Rules on Cloud Outsourcing of Financial Institutions
On 4 July 2024, the Bankers Association of the Republic of China promulgated the “Self-Regulatory Rules on Cloud Outsourcing of Financial Institutions”. We summarize below:
(1)Financial institutions shall establish governance system when outsourcing cloud services and the matters to be noted for risk management;
(2)The management framework for financial institutions using cloud services;
(3)The requirements on personnel training;
(4)Financial institutions shall establish information security management mechanisms for cloud services;
(5)The matters that financial institutions shall comply with when conducting audits for cloud services; and
(6)The requirements on business continuity management.
Reported by: Stacy Lo/ Zoe Chen
Public Company
5.Amendment to Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Annual Reports of Public Companies
On 1 August 2024, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced the amendment to the ” Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Annual Reports of Public Companies.” We summarize below:
(1)To align with the “Blueprint for the Integration of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Sustainability Disclosure Standards” issued by the FSC on 17 August 2023, the following measures have been implemented to streamline the content of annual report:
(a)To reduce the required items for disclosure; and
(b)To allow the use of “information retrieval index” to replace “full disclosures.”
(2)To promote gender diversity on the boards of listed and over-the-counter companies to be in line with the goals outlined in the “Sustainable Development Action Plan for Listed and Over-The-Counter Companies,” the content of the appendix has been amended to enhance the relevant disclosure.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Eva Chiu
SITE/SICE
On 31 July 2024, the FSC announced the draft Ruling of Business for SITE/SICE Under Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 3, Article 3 and Subparagraph 3, Paragraph 3, Article 4 of the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Act and transform the content of rulings into regulations. We summarize the updates as follows:
(1)To specify that the limitation on 99 high-asset customers is based on each offshore non-SIT fund;
(2)To include translation related services to the scope of administrative services in relation to service to Offshore Banking Unit (OBU) /Offshore Securities Unit (OSU) provided by Securities InvestmentTrust Enterprises (SITE) and Securities Investment Consulting Enterprises (SICE); and
(3)To allow qualified SICE/SITE to provide administrative services to banks and securities firms in relation to offshore non-SIT fund products, provided that it is subject to the FSC’s prior approval, and the SITE/SICE shall not be involved in dealing with the customers of banks or securities firms and no NTD exchange/remittance shall be involved. The SICE/SITE must also enter into mandate agreement with the offshore fund institution
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Amy Su
7.Announcement of Self-Regulation of the Securities Investment Trust Enterprises on the Introduction of Responsible Mapping System
On 13 August 2024, the Securities Investment Trust & Consulting Association (SITCA) announced the “Self-Regulation of the Securities Investment Trust Enterprises on the Introduction of Responsible Mapping System”. We summarize below:
(1)The purpose of this self-regulation is to ensure the allocation of responsibilities among senior management in the SITEs. The applicable individuals shall include senior management such as chairman, general manager, deputy general managers, and those who have decision-making authority over business or management activities.
(2)The SITEs shall implement the responsible mapping system through four stages, which are defining responsibilities, understanding responsibilities, accountabilities and holding responsibilities.
(3)The SITEs shall establish an accountability committee under the board of directors or designate an existing committee to implement responsible mapping system.
(4)The SITEs shall require senior management to issue a statement of responsibilities upon assuming the office or when there are changes in responsibilities.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Winnie Su
Securities
8.TWSE Introduces Electronic Submission Option for Certain Listing Applications
On August 9, 2024, the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation (TWSE) announced revisions to several application forms, including the “Application for Primary Stock Listing” for domestic listed companies, the “Application for Stock Listing” on the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) for domestic issuers, the “Application for Primary Stock Listing” for foreign issuers, the “Application for Primary Stock Listing” for companies previously listed on the TPEx, the “Application for Transition from TIB Primary Listing to Primary Listing,” and the “Application for TIB Primary Stock Listing” for foreign issuers. The revisions allow certain application documents (such as company registration certificates and approval letters from competent authorities for public offerings) to be submitted electronically, promoting energy conservation and carbon reduction.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Mandy Wu
| 編輯: Mike Lu (Partner) Stacy Lo (Partner) Jeffrey Liu (Partner) Kang-Shen Liu (Partner) David Tsai (Partner) Angela Lin (Partner) Paul Hsu (Partner) | Counselors: Echo Yeh Sue Su Jolene Wang (Lexcel Partners IP) |