The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the Taipei Exchange (TPEx) are to launch two new trading boards in July at the earliest to help local and foreign start-ups, as well as biotech companies with great potential, raise capital and gain public awareness, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said yesterday.
The move is expected to encourage companies that have considered going public on foreign stock exchanges to stay in the home market and is supported by relaxed listing requirements, FSC Chairman Thomas Huang (黃天牧) told a news conference in New Taipei City.
The TWSE would set up the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) to welcome start-ups focused on Internet of Things or artificial intelligence, biotech firms that have conducted Phase 1 clinical trial for experimental products, and firms with key component technologies, TWSE president Chien Lih-chung (簡立忠) said.
Photo: Kao Shih-ching, Taipei Times
Start-ups applying to list on the TIB would be reviewed primarily by their market capitalization, instead of profitability performance, Chien said, adding that the minimum requirement for market capitalization would be NT$1.5 billion (US$52.32 million).
Biotech firms would not need a recommendation letter from the Ministry of Economic Affairs to list and there would be no revenue requirements, he said.
However, the exchange would favor start-ups that have used the Series C funding process, as they are more mature and their market capitalization has been assessed by professional institutional investors, Chien said.
Examples of candidates that would qualify for the TIB include electric scooter maker Gogoro Inc (睿能創意) and KKBOX (願境網訊), Taiwan’s largest cloud-based music service provider, Chien said.
If the share price of a TIB-listed firm remains below NT$3 for 30 days in a row, they would be delisted, he said.
STRATEGIC BOARD
The TPEX is to launch its Strategic Board, with companies allowed to apply to list if they receive recommendations from two securities brokers, TPEX chief executive officer Edith Lee (李愛玲) said.
Securities brokers would be punished by the TPEX if they help applicants hide information or give false statements in a public prospectus, Lee said.
The two new boards would be limited to institutional investors such as banks and insurance companies, and individuals with net assets of NT$10 million, as they have higher risk tolerance, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director Sam Chang (張振山) said.
The FSC aims to have 10 companies listed on each of the two boards within a year of their launches, Chang said.
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