Starting next year, listed firms would be required to disclose their power and water consumption, as well as waste management, so investors can evaluate their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) performance, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said on Tuesday.
The commission last year encouraged listed companies to volunteer the information, but not many did, so it has made it mandatory for all listed firms to disclose the data from next year, Securities and Futures Bureau Deputy Director-General Tsai Li-ling (蔡麗玲) told a videoconference.
The commission would revise the format of the appendixes of listed companies’ annual reports by the end of this year, and public companies must include the data in their appendixes from next year, Tsai said, adding that companies are required to release the reports seven days before their annual shareholders’ meetings.
The revised format has not been finalized, but three key gauges would be included — carbon emissions, water use and waste management — as they indicate how companies address vital environmental issues, Tsai said.
Given the mandatory disclosure, companies are expected to step up efforts to address climate change, as investors would be able to compare data, the commission said.
Companies also have to disclose the number of workplace accidents and injuries, and female workers as a percentage of total employees and management to help investors understand how they deal with social issues such as labor safety and gender equality, she said.
“Overall, we need public companies to be more specific when they introduce their ESG performance,” the commission said.
The FSC would also tighten requirements for information disclosure of ESG-themed funds, as some securities investment and trust companies have issued such funds without detailed information of their portfolios or investment strategies, Tsai said.
The new rules would be announced by the end of next month, she said, adding that the FSC would refer to rules set by Hong Kong regulators.
A total of 25 ESG-themed funds have been issued in Taiwan, with the combined asset under management totaling NT$121.5 billion (US$4.39 billion), FSC data showed.
Among the rows of vibrators, rubber torsos and leather harnesses at a Chinese sex toys exhibition in Shanghai this weekend, the beginnings of an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven shift in the industry quietly pulsed. China manufactures about 70 percent of the world’s sex toys, most of it the “hardware” on display at the fair — whether that be technicolor tentacled dildos or hyper-realistic personalized silicone dolls. Yet smart toys have been rising in popularity for some time. Many major European and US brands already offer tech-enhanced products that can enable long-distance love, monitor well-being and even bring people one step closer to
Malaysia’s leader yesterday announced plans to build a massive semiconductor design park, aiming to boost the Southeast Asian nation’s role in the global chip industry. A prominent player in the semiconductor industry for decades, Malaysia accounts for an estimated 13 percent of global back-end manufacturing, according to German tech giant Bosch. Now it wants to go beyond production and emerge as a chip design powerhouse too, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said. “I am pleased to announce the largest IC (integrated circuit) Design Park in Southeast Asia, that will house world-class anchor tenants and collaborate with global companies such as Arm [Holdings PLC],”
Sales in the retail, and food and beverage sectors last month continued to rise, increasing 0.7 percent and 13.6 percent respectively from a year earlier, setting record highs for the month of March, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Sales in the wholesale sector also grew last month by 4.6 annually, mainly due to the business opportunities for emerging applications related to artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing technologies, the ministry said in a report. The ministry forecast that retail, and food and beverage sales this month would retain their growth momentum as the former would benefit from Tomb Sweeping Day
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