Taiwan Financial Services Commission amends foreign issuer rules to expand corporate bond issuance and shelf registration in Taiwan

The Taiwan Financial Services Commission (FSC) has launched the Asia Innovation Capital (AIC) initiative and amended the Regulations Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Foreign Issuers to broaden foreign participation in Taiwan’s bond market by adjusting issuance specifications and widening the routes available for raising funds through debt. The changes add eligibility conditions for certain guaranteed structures to issue general corporate bonds on the main board and use a shelf registration approach, including (i) branches of foreign financial institutions fully guaranteed by their foreign financial institution where the parent holding company has been listed on an approved overseas stock market for three years, and (ii) special-purpose subsidiaries established by foreign companies for fundraising and capital management needs that are fully guaranteed by the foreign company, where the foreign company has been listed on an approved overseas stock market for three years. The package also simplifies spin-off procedures for foreign issuers, aligns the handling of annual reports for shareholders’ meetings between domestic and foreign companies, and strengthens foreign issuers’ fundraising management and information disclosure requirements; the FSC also limited the guarantee scope to the debt portion guaranteed by a parent company for a subsidiary’s bond issuance. A notice covering the amended articles and tables has been published, and the FSC indicated that related letters and orders will be issued shortly.