AMENDED CRITERIA GOVERN-ING OFFERING AND ISSUANCE OF SECURITIES BY FOREIGN SECURITIES ISSUERS

01/01/2009

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To expand Taiwan's securities market, and to encourage foreign enterprises to have their securities listed in Taiwan and invest in Taiwan , on 18 December 2008 the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced amendments to the Criteria Governing the Offering and Issuance of Securities by Foreign Securities Issuers.  The main points of the amendments are outlined below:
Ÿ	If within the past year a foreign securities issuer has received a credit rating report from a credit-rating agency that is approved or recognized by the FSC, the waiting period for the issuer's filing for notification of an offering and issuance of securities to become effective is reduced from twelve business days to seven business days.  Similarly, if a company seeking secondary listing on the TSE or OTC market on the basis of previously issued shares publicly offers and issues shares in Taiwan or sponsors the issuance of Taiwan depository receipts, such a transaction is similar in nature to a public offering of Taiwanese securities; hence, the waiting period is also reduced to seven business days.
Ÿ	In view of the fact that the home country of a foreign issuer and the country where the securities are listed may not in all cases require certification of securities offered and issued by the foreign issuer, new provisions are introduced, whereby if neither the home country of the foreign issuer nor the country where the securities are listed requires certification of securities, but the securities to be offered and issued in a specific issuance have been authenticated by an impartial third party, the requirement for certification can be waived.
Ÿ	Because the prospectus for an offering and issuance of shares under a company's primary TSE, OTC, or emerging-stocks-board listing is required to disclose merely the summary opinion of the securities underwriter's evaluation, and not the full evaluation report, out of consideration for equality, and in order to reduce disclosure costs, the prospectus for the offering and issuance of Taiwan depositary receipts for a company's secondary TSE or OTC listing is now required to disclose merely the summary opinion of the underwriter's evaluation.  However, where necessary to protect the interests of the public, the FSC may require a foreign issuer to disclose additional information on a case-by-case basis.