Starting this year, listed companies and stock affairs institutions need to unveil the results of electronic voting a day before annual shareholders’ meetings, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Tuesday as part of its efforts to achieve information transparency for investors.
The requirement is to take effect after the commission approves an amendment to the Regulations Governing the Administration of Shareholder Services of Public Companies (公開發行股票公司股務處理準則) next month at the earliest, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) said.
Most listed companies’ annual general meetings are to be held from May, Tsai said.
Photo: CNA
Currently, absentee shareholders can use electronic voting through a system operated by Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corp (台灣集中保管結算所) two days prior to a meeting, but listed companies only announce the e-voting results on the date of the meeting, which enables company management to know e-voting results ahead of other stakeholders.
The commission is also to tighten regulations on stock affairs institutions by asking Taiwan Depository and Clearing to evaluate the institutions’ qualifications every three years from next year, Tsai said.
Those that fail to improve their operations would be barred from handling stock affairs for listed firms, she said.
There are 20 stock affairs institutions, mostly securities companies, in Taiwan, while there are 30 listed firms that handle their own stock affairs, which would also be evaluated, she said.
If the 30 companies are punished by the commission for contravening regulations, they would need to assign tasks to outside stock affairs institutions within two months, Tsai said.
Taiwan Depository and Clearing’s evaluations would focus on companies’ compliance with the regulations, and ensuring fairness between management and shareholders, she said.
As it is a global trend for listed companies to hire professional institutions to handle stock affairs, companies that have assigned their stock affairs to outside institutions would be barred from resuming control over them, the commission said.
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