Stock Exchange Corp to approve proposal today

The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp is slated to approve a proposal today that will grant it sweeping powers in the process of granting approval to companies that plan to go public.

The proposal suggests to revise the make-up of the stock exchange's 15-member review committee, which is charged with the responsibility of screening listing plans before giving its go-ahead to companies that plan to go public, according to TSE chairman Wu Nai-jen (吳乃仁).

The news was earlier reported by a Chinese-language business daily and later confirmed by Wu, the cable television station USTV reported yesterday.

The 15-member committee currently recruits 12 outside board members with expertise in various areas such as law, accounting, finance, business management and industry economy.

But under the new proposal, no outside board members will be appointed to the committee.

Wu also said the stock exchange plans to downsize the 15-member committee to be a seven-member body, following a board meeting scheduled to be held today.

In accordance with the new plan, the stock exchange will therefore take full responsibility for reviewing listing plans submitted by companies that plan to go public, Wu said yesterday in response to criticism that the exchange will be invested with the power to monopolize the decision as to which companies can go public if the proposal is passed.

Following suit, the GRETAI Securities Market (櫃台買賣中心) also plans to discuss the change in the composition of its review committee next Monday, the Chinese-language media reported. The GRETAI Securities Market is where companies trade shares over-the-counter.