Personal Data Protection Act
1.Amendment to Personal Data Protection Act
On 11 November 2025, the President announced the amendment to the Personal Data Protection Act, and the effective date is to be prescribed by the Executive Yuan. We summarize below:
(1) To add that when a government or non-government agency encounters an incident of personal data leakage, it has the obligation to take contingency measures and keep records of the incident, and shall notify the competent authority when it falls under a certain scope;
(2) To amend that the Personal Data Protection Commission is the competent authority for administrative inspection of non-government agencies, and to add the requirements for the initiation of inspection;
(3) In conjunction with the obligations on notification of personal data incidents, contingency measures, and record keeping, as well as the revision of the security maintenance of personal data files by non-government agencies and supervision and management during the transitional period, the penalties for non-compliance with the relevant obligations by non-government agencies is added;
(4) To stipulate that the competent authority may report to the Executive Yuan for announcement of a certain range of non-government agencies, which shall remain temporarily under the supervision of the competent central authority for the industry or the governments of the municipalities or counties (cities) for the personal data protection during the six (6)-year transitional period; and
(5) To add that any person who objects the administrative sanctions imposed by PDPA shall file an administrative litigation for relief, and to stipulate the relevant mechanism for filing an administrative appeal during the transitional period, as well as the handling of administrative appeals that have not yet been filed or completed prior to the implementation of the amendment.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Linda Guo
Taxation
2.Draft amendment to the Regulations Governing Reduction and Exemption of Income Tax of Foreign Specialist Professionals
On 30 October 2025, the Ministry of Finance announced the draft amendment to the Regulations Governing Reduction and Exemption of Income Tax of Foreign Specialist Professionals. We summarize below:
(1) To add digital, environmental, and biotechnology fields as specific expertise under this Regulation, and amend “physical education” to “sports”.
(2) To add special circumstances under which foreign specialist professional may apply for tax incentives, as well as the required supporting documents.
(3) To add the legal effects and exceptional circumstances applicable when foreign specialist professionals fail to apply for tax incentives within the prescribed time limit or fail to supplement the required documents.
Reported by: David Tsai / Joe Liao
Labor
3.Amendment to Republic of China (Taiwan) Regulations Concerning Review and Issuance Procedures for Employment-seeking Visa Applications Submitted by Foreign Professionals
On November 11, 2025, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the amendment to the Republic of China (Taiwan) Regulations Concerning Review and Issuance Procedures for Employment-seeking Visa Applications Submitted by Foreign Professionals. The eligibility for foreign nationals to apply for a job-seeking visa through overseas missions has been revised from requiring graduation from a university listed by the Ministry of Education as a world’s top university to graduation from a university ranked within the top 1,500 in the world, as announced by the Ministry of Education.
Reported by: David Tsai / Julia Kuo
Securities
4.Draft Amendments to Regulations Governing Share Repurchase by Exchange-Listed and OTC-Listed Companies
On 3 November 2025, the Financial Supervisory Commission (“FSC”) announced the draft amendments to the Regulations Governing Share Repurchase by Exchange-Listed and OTC-Listed Companies. We summarize below:
(1) With respect to the reporting and announcement procedures of an exchange-listed company or an OTC-listed company’s repurchase of its own shares, the procedures are amended such that after the documents required to be reported and the contents required to be announced being uploaded to and entered into the Market Observation Post System. Additionally, to be in line with the amendments to Paragraph 4, Article 28-2 of the Securities and Exchange Act, the period during which reporting of the company’s shares repurchase shall be made is extended from three (3) years to five (5) years.
(2) The amended provisions shall take effect on 1 May 2026.
Reported by: Mike Lu / Sean Tsai
5.Draft amendments to the Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Foreign Issuers
On 11 November 2025, the FSC announced the draft amendments to the Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Foreign Issuers. We summarize below:
(1) The operational procedures for amending fundraising plans have been revised to align with the practical workflow for foreign issuers implementing such changes.
(2) To enhance the fundraising management and information disclosure for foreign issuers, it is stipulated that the issuance of new shares for acquiring assets in a spin-off may be exempt from public offering, provided that the original lead underwriter is subsequently commissioned to assess the impact on the company’s finances, business operations, and shareholder equity.
(3) Primary listed (or OTC-listed) companies and emerging market companies are now permitted to issue new shares as consideration for acquiring another company’s assets in a spin-off, and such issuance may be exempt from public offering.
(4) The content requirements for the annual reports of primary listed (or OTC-listed) companies and emerging market companies shall follow the same rules applicable to domestic public companies.
(5) Foreign financial institutions are now allowed to use a shelf registration for issuing plain corporate bonds through their branches, provided that the institution commits to assuming full responsibility for the bonds and its own stock or its parent company’s stock has been listed on a recognized overseas securities market for a specified period.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Alva Wu
Financials
6.Draft Amendments to Regulations Governing the Investing Activities of a Financial Holding Company
On 3 July 2025, the FSC announced the draft amendment to the Regulations Governing the Investing Activities of a Financial Holding Company for public consultation and a public hearing was held on 31 July 2025. After considering the opinions of experts and industry representatives, the FSC further revised the draft and issued a press release on 6 November 2025. We summarize below:
(1) The requirement in the original provisions that a financial holding company (“FHC”) obtains a resolution of non-objection from the board of directors of the invested company for the FHC’s first-time investment in another FHC, a bank, an insurance company or a securities firm is deleted;
(2) An FHC’s first-time investment in a public company shall be made in cash;
(3) The shareholding ratio for an FHC’s first-time investment in a financial institution shall exceed 25%;
(4) The documents required for an FHC’s first-time investment in a financial institution are amended to require the submission of a reasonable and feasible plan;
(5) A transitional period is provided for adjustments to the double leverage ratio (DLR);
(6) Introduction of audit committee and independent expert opinions;
(7) The terms of a tender offer may not be disclosed prior to approval of the investment; and
(8) Where an application is denied, the applicant may not reapply to invest in the same invested company within one (1) year.
Reported by: Stacy Lo / Zoe Chen
Public Company
7.Amendment to Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Annual Reports of Public Companies
On 7 November 2025, the FSC announced the amendment to the Regulations Governing Information to be Published in Annual Reports of Public Companies. We summarize below:
(1) It is stipulated that companies meeting certain conditions shall include a dedicated chapter on sustainability-related financial information in their annual reports, and the complete information in such chapter shall be approved by a resolution of the board of directors. The “certain conditions” referred to above will be separately prescribed by the FSC.
(2) Article 10-1 is added to stipulate that the preparation and disclosure of sustainability-related financial information shall be conducted in accordance with this Article, the relevant laws and regulations, and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards recognized by the FSC.
(3) It is stipulated that companies meeting certain conditions shall file their annual reports concurrently with the financial reports for the current year. However, if they are unable to complete the preparation of the full annual report in time, they may first file the dedicated chapter on sustainability-related financial information, and subsequently file the complete annual report.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Eden Hsieh
SITE/SICE
8. Limitstions for Securities Investment Trusts Funds Investing in Stocks Listed on the Innovation Board
On 29 October 2025, the FSC announced the ruling removing the additional investment limit for securities investment trusts funds in stocks listed on the TWSE’s Innovation Board (Innovation Board stocks). On 7 November, 2025, the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association (SITCA) issued a circular accordingly stating that, following the effective date of the aforementioned ruling, securities investment trusts funds investing in Innovation Board stocks shall comply with the general requirements set out in the Regulations Governing Securities Investment Trust Funds. The SITCA circular also reminds firms to comply with relevant legal and regulatory requirements, such as specifying the investment ratio limits in the securities investment trusts deed, and ensuring that risk controls relating to investments in such products are incorporated into the internal control system.
Reported by: Jeffrey Liu / Eva Chiu
| 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) |
