Communications
1.Amendments to Telecommunications Management Act
On 2 July 2025, the President announced the amendment to the “Telecommunications Management Act.” We summarize below:
(1) To add that “service providers that lease or purchase telecommunications services with subscriber numbers from other Telecom Operators (who have been allocated subscriber numbers) on a wholesale basis, and resell those services to subscribers in such service providers’ own names”, as well as “service providers offering internet access services,” shall register as a telecommunications enterprise with the competent authority. Those who have already been providing the aforementioned services prior to the implementation of the amendments shall complete such registration within one (1) year from the implementation date of the amendment.
(2) For service providers offering internet access services, the competent authority may implement a tiered management system, taking into account telecommunications service revenue, number of subscribers and other factors.
(3) To add the corresponding penalty: failure to complete the registration as a telecommunications enterprise may result in an administrative fine ranging from NT$100,000 to NT$1,000,000, and the violator will be notified to make rectification within a specified period. Those who fail to make rectification within the given period may be fined per violation.
Reported by: Alex Li / Sean Tsai
Securities
2.Amendment to Securities Investor and Futures Trader Protection Act
On 1 July 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the three readings of the amendment to the “Securities Investor and Futures Trader Protection Act”. Please see item 3 of our Lexgroup Newsletter (Issue No. 461) for details.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Angela Lin
Fair Trade Ac
3.Amendment to Certain Provisions of Principles for Handling Cases under Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act
On 1 July 2025, The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) amended certain provisions of the “Principles for Handling Cases under Article 21 of the Fair Trade Act.” We summarize below:
(1) To include phone call to file complaints with some requirements amended consequently.
(2) To amend the requirements for complaints and supporting documentation thereof.
(3) To amend the matters to be reviewed when the FTC is called for investigation.
(4) To amend the types of cases that shall be forwarded to other authorities for further actions.
Reported by: Kang-Shen Liu / Joe Liao
Digital development
4.Draft Regulation on Promoting the Development of Innovative Use of Data
On 16 June 2025, the Ministry of Digital Affairs (MODA) announced the draft “Regulation on Promoting the Development of Innovative Use of Data ” for public consultation to establish the regulation of data opening, sharing and reuse in Taiwan as the cornerstone of promoting digital development. We summarize below:
(1) To serve as the basis for promoting the development of innovative use of data, the competent authority shall set up a fundamental project for the development of innovative use of data and execute after submitting to the Executive Yuan for approval, which shall be reviewed at least once every four (4) years. To facilitate the implementation of relevant policies, the Executive Yuan may invite governmental officials, scholars and experts to hold consultation meetings on the innovative use of data.
(2) The director of the second-level agencies under the Executive Yuan, independent agencies, and municipalities and county (city) governments shall assign a deputy director or a suitable candidate to act as the data officer in order to facilitate the promotion of the development of the innovative use of data.
(3) Government data that is voluntarily disclosed or applied for provision in accordance with the Freedom of Government Information Law shall be made as open data and follow the findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable principles. If such data become difficult or inappropriate to be provided due to changes in circumstances or termination of system use or business, the governmental agency may terminate the provision of such data.
(4) Governmental agencies may request the sharing of government data between inter-governmental agencies or establish a regular governmental data sharing mechanism in writing; the government may encourage the private persons or cooperate with the private persons to establish an altruistic data operation mechanism, which allows the government agencies or non-profit corporations or organizations to provide such data to the users for public interest.
(5) Governmental agencies shall provide open data free of charge and set up standard terms of authorization. Unless necessary for the public interest, the data shall be shared under non-exclusive authorization and the governmental agencies may charge a fee to reduce the cost of obtaining data.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Ron Tsai
Financials
5.Amendment to Regulations Governing the Advertisements and Solicitation or Promotional Activities Conducted by the Financial Services Enterprise, Regulations Governing Ascertaining the Suitability of Financial Products or Services to the Financial Consumer, Regulations Governing Explaining the Important Aspects of the Contract and Disclosing Associated Risks before Providing Financial Products or Services, and Regulations Governing the Establishment and Administration of the Ombudsman Body
On 30 June 2025, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced the amendment to the “Regulations Governing the Advertisements and Solicitation or Promotional Activities Conducted by the Financial Services Enterprise”, “Regulations Governing Ascertaining the Suitability of Financial Products or Services to the Financial Consumer”, “Regulations Governing Explaining the Important Aspects of the Contract and Disclosing Associated Risks before Providing Financial Products or Services” and “Regulations Governing the Establishment and Administration of the Ombudsman Body”. We summarize below:
(1) Regulations Governing Explaining the Important Aspects of the Contract and Disclosing Associated Risks before Providing Financial Products or Services
(a) After the contract between a financial leasing company and a financial consumer is concluded, the company shall promptly deliver a copy of the contract to the financial consumer. Upon the financial consumer’s request, and once the financial leasing company confirms that the contract amount and related fees have been fully repaid, the company shall issue a repayment certificate stating the repayment date and the repaid amount; and
(b) When a financial leasing company conducts financing through accounts receivable purchases or installment sales, the claim shall not be assigned to a third party. However, this restriction shall not apply if the assignment is required by law or regulation.
(2) Other key points of the amendments are the same as its draft amendments, and please see item 3 of our Lexgroup Newsletter (Issue No. 463) for details.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Zoe Chen
6. Amendment to Offshore Banking Act
On 1 July 2025, the Legislative Yuan passed the amendment to the “Offshore Banking Act”, where the period for the exemption of Offshore Insurance Unit from profit-seeking enterprise income tax, business tax, stamp tax and withholding tax derived from offshore insurance business is extended to be until 31 December 2035.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Zoe Chen
7.Amendment to Regulations Governing Domestic Branches of Financial Institutions
On 11 July 2025, the FSC announced the amendment to the “Regulations Governing Domestic Branches of Financial Institutions”. We summarize below:
(1) Financial institutions applying to establish branches in the local asset management zone shall not be subject to the financial, business, or establishment timing restrictions set forth in the Regulations; and
(2) Financial institutions approved to establish branches in the local asset management zone shall not relocate such branches within seven (7) years of establishment, except with the approval of the competent authority.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Zoe Chen
8.Amendment to Regulations Governing Foreign Exchange Business of Banking Enterprises
On 15 July 2025, the Central Bank of the Republic of China (CBC) announced the amendment to the “Regulations Governing Foreign Exchange Business of Banking Enterprises.” We summarize below:
(1) To streamline administrative procedures, authorized banks that set up automatic teller machines to provide foreign exchange businesses in accordance with regulations shall manage and maintain such machines on their own. Any subsequent additions or removals of such machines do not require separate reporting to CBC.
(2) To be in line with the rulings of the FSC, banking enterprises outsource operation of foreign exchange business which are not subject to prior approval of the FSC may proceed the operations directly and retain relevant documents for record.
(3) To be in line with the rulings of the FSC, authorized banks that issue foreign exchange bank debentures in accordance with regulations do not need to report to the CBC for subsequent issuances within the approved quota, unless otherwise required by the competent authority to apply for approval or to report for record. The aforementioned report shall be submitted to the CBC along with relevant documents within 15 business days after issuance.
(4) To unify the regulations on the transmission of foreign exchange information by the designated bank, the threshold of the amount to be transmitted is adjusted to the equivalent of US$1,000,000 or above, and the transmission shall be made by 12:00 on the next business day of the execution date.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Ron Tsai
9.Amendments to Guidelines to Members of the Trust Association of the Republic of China for Remuneration of the Trustee and Risk Disclosure When Conducting Trust Activities
On 11 April, 2025, the Trust Association of Republic of China amended the “Guidelines to Members of the Trust Association of the Republic of China for Remuneration of the Trustee and Risk Disclosure When Conducting Trust Activities”, which has been reported to the FSC for record. We summarize below.
(1) To add that the eligibility requirements for trustors of TLAC bonds shall comply with the regulations of the competent authority. Trust enterprises shall either obtain a signed risk disclosure statement from the trustor at the time of the initial transaction, or disclose the investment risks at each investment, and in both cases, the investment risks shall also be disclosed in the account statements.
(2) To stipulate that, prior to the amendment, if a trust enterprise had already invested trust assets in TLAC bonds, the provisions regarding the disclosure of investment risks in account statements shall apply.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Linda Guo
10.Draft amendment to Regulations Governing the Investing Activities of a Financial Holding Company and Regulations Governing Investments in Other Enterprises by Commercial Banks, and draft Regulations Governing Investments in Financial Holding Companies, Banks, Insurance Companies and Securities Firms by Financial Holding Companies or banks
On 3 July 2025, the FSC announced the draft amendment to the “Regulations Governing the Investing Activities of a Financial Holding Company”, the draft amendment to the “Regulations Governing Investments in Other Enterprises by Commercial Banks” and the draft “Regulations Governing Investments in Financial Holding Companies, Banks, Insurance Companies and Securities Firms by Financial Holding Companies or Banks” for public consultation. We summarize below:
(1) To ensure the order and stability of financial market and reduce the uncertainty during the consolidation, the ratio of controlling shares which shall be obtained in the first investment of financial holding companies or banks in a financial institution is raised from 10% to 25%;
(2) Tender offers conducted by a financial holding company to invest in public companies shall be made in cash;
(3) The financial holding company shall propose to the audit committee for approval before conducting the first investment;
(4) The financial holding company which invests in public companies by acquiring shares in way of tender offer shall keep the terms of the tender offer confidential before the competent authority approves; and
(5) To establish “Regulations Governing Investments in Financial Holding Companies, Banks, Insurance Companies and Securities Firms by Financial Holding Companies or Banks, ” which requires that financial holding companies conducting related investments shall not actively increase their holdings of shares acquired through financial investments prior to approval of the competent authority. After the approval of the competent authority, related parties shall not be the sellers in a tender offer. If the consolidation is not completed within the period committed, unless with the approval of the competent authority, the shares shall be released within the specific period.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Ron Tsai
SITE/SICE
11.Standards for Internal Control System of Securities Investment Trust Enterprises, the Regulations for the Implementation of Internal Audit, the Internal Audit Checklist, and the Working Papers
On 8 July 2025, the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association of the R.O.C. (SITCA) announced the “Standards for Internal Control System of Securities Investment Trust Enterprises”, the “Enforcement Rules for the Internal Audit”, the “Internal Audit Checklist”, and the “Working Papers”. Securities investment trust enterprises shall review the contents of their internal control systems in accordance with the standards above and complete necessary adjustments within one (1) year.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Eden Hsieh
12.Practical Guidelines regarding Income Equalisation of ETF
On 4 July 2025, the SITCA issued the “Practical Guidelines for Using Income Equalisation as a Source of ETF Distribution.” In addition to consolidating the three major principles outlined in the previous ruling (i.e., Zhong Xin Gu Zi No. 1120054279) into a table, supplemented with calculation examples (formulas) and common violation scenarios. Furthermore, the guidelines provide an ETF distribution decision flowchart, practical cases, and a set of Q&A for the industry’s reference.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Eva Chiu
13.Amendment to Incentive Plan for Offshore Funds
On 27 June 2025, the FSC announced a ruling to amend the “Incentive Plan for Offshore Funds.” The amendment primarily relaxes the criteria for assessing the operating income of offshore fund institutions that have established a presence in Taiwan and lowers the threshold for the number of investment research team members.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Eden Hsieh
14.Amendment to the Rulings Regarding Paragraph 1, Article 7 of the Regulations Governing Responsible Persons and Associated Persons of Securities Investment Trust Enterprises and Paragraph 1, Article 6 of the Regulations Governing Responsible Persons and Associated Persons of Securities Investment Consulting Enterprises
On 11 July 2025, the FSC issued two new rulings to amend and replace previous rulings concerning the concurrent holding of positions at overseas institutions by personnel of securities investment trust enterprises and securities investment consulting enterprises. Under the previous rulings, enterprises were required to submit relevant documentation to the FSC for approval if their designated personnel were intended to hold concurrent positions while either already holding specific positions or being assigned to certain concurrent positions. The amended rulings remove the prior FSC approval requirement but provide that relevant documents shall be properly retained for future inspection.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Jason Su
| Editors: Mike Lu ((Partner) Stacy Lo (Partner) Jeffrey Liu (Partner) Kang-Shen Liu (Partner) David Tsai (Partner) Angela Lin (Partner) Paul Hsu (Partner) Alex Li (Partner) | Counselors: Echo Yeh Sue Su Jolene Wang (Lexcel Partners IP Firm) |
