The Taiwan Stock Exchange is to relax its listing requirements for start-ups and biotechnology companies on the Taiwan Innovation Board (TIB) as it aims to attract more companies to the new board, the exchange said on Wednesday.
The adjustment came after only one company debuted its shares on the new board, which was launched in July last year.
The exchange said it would lower the minimum market capitalization requirement for start-ups from NT$1.5 billion (US$47.4 million) to NT$1 billion and would cut the requirement of combined revenue in the most recent four quarters from NT$150 million to NT$100 million.
Approval for TIB listing would not depend on the applicant company’s profitability, the exchange said.
The relaxation would make it easier for e-commerce platforms, and digital technology and software service providers to trade shares on the new board, the exchange said.
The bourse also trimmed the minimum market capitalization requirement for biotech firms from NT$3 billion to NT$2 billion, while the requirements that the companies would have to complete phase 2 trials on humans for experimental drugs and have sufficient funding to cover annual overhead costs are to remain.
Biotech firms’ revenue would not be taken into account for the evaluation of its application, the exchange said.
TIB-listed companies would be eligible for transfers to the main board after one year of listing, down from two years previously, the exchange said.
The listing rules were revised after the bourse consulted with its peers in neighboring countries, it said.
PlayNitride Inc (錼創科技), which supplies chip carriers for micro-LEDs and micro-LED products, is the only company trading shares on the new board, although the bourse expects to receive about 10 applications this year.
Exchange chairman Sherman Lin (林修銘) last month told reporters that the TIB was talking with eight prospective applicants, mostly start-ups.
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