An alternative set of listing requirements could be implemented before the end of June to expand the nation’s capital market and attract a wider variety of companies launching initial public offerings in Taiwan, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) said yesterday.
Profits would no longer be the only requirement when assessing whether a company is suitable for listing, TWSE chairman Hsu Jan-yau (許璋瑤) told a ceremony starting the first trading session of the Year of the Dog.
Regulators are willing to be flexible with companies that are in the red, provided they have the required scale in revenue or net worth, Hsu said.
Meanwhile, the Financial Supervisory Commission has proposed a new listing requirement for e-commerce companies that could be implemented next month.
The new requirement requires e-commerce companies to have at least NT$600 million (US$20.52 million) in authorized capital and NT$5 billion in market capitalization to list on the TWSE, the commission said
E-commerce firms with NT$600 million in authorized capital and NT$2 billion in market capitalization would be able to seek listing on the Taipei Exchange, provided they also meet other conditions that are to be defined under the new requirements.
While the Securities and Futures Bureau has already been overseeing planning for the alternative set of listing requirements, Financial Supervisory Commission Wellington Koo (顧立雄) is to chair a meeting with other bureaus later to finalize its details, Hsu said.
Hsu declined securities brokerages’ appeal to lower TWSE fees, saying the exchange’s resources have been strained by heavy transaction demand as the industry posts rising profits.
The exchange hopes to partner with securities brokers to make the nation’s capital market more vibrant, Hsu said.
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