Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation

The "Taiwan Stock Museum", the only one of its kind in Taiwan, officially opens to the public for the first time ever on December 24, 2012. The museum was meticulously planned and created by the Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation (TDCC) following the completion of the company's move to 100% depository of scripless securities in July 2011. The museum represents a repository of artifacts that have witnessed the historical development of Taiwan's stock market. The opening ceremony was jointly officiated by Chairperson Kung-Wha Ding of TDCC and Vice Chairperson Wu Tang-chieh of the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).

In his address Vice Chairperson Wu Tang-chieh said that as he looked back at the history of the development of Taiwan's central depository system, TDCC has instituted this system from the ground up, providing the market with security and efficient services. At the same time TDCC has also accomplished the scripless objective for all securities. He hoped that the Taiwan Stock Museum, which belongs to the entire market, will provide both public service and educational value to the society. In addition to recording the history of Taiwan's stock market development, Vice Chairman Wu also expressed his wish that the museum will play the role of a common educational platform for promoting financial literacy and knowledge by securities peripheral institutions and issuing companies alike.

To highlight the scripless securities milestone achieved by Taiwan's securities market and to take into consideration the advent of the paperless era—in which physical stock certificates will become a thing of the past—TDCC planned the construction of the first Stock Museum in Taiwan, which will belong to the entire market. It is hoped that through the recording of the course of development of Taiwan's securities market in an earnest manner, its history, current development and future will be revealed to the visitors via a time tunnel. The museum also boasts a valuable collection of precious historical artifacts and related literature, which bear witness to history. It is hoped that the rich collections at the Stock Museum's exhibitions will help to promote financial literacy and educate the public. Chairperson Ding emphasized that in order to enrich the museum's collection of precious historical documents and artifacts, TDCC has actively collected representative stock certificates from around the world via various channels, including a replica of China's very first stock certificate, reproduced by Shanghai Lidao Securities Museum, and also the replica of the world's first stock certificate, which is reproduced by the Amsterdam Stock Exchange in the Netherlands. In addition, the museum also borrowed a number of valuable items and historical documents from the Central Bank, the Ministry of Finance, the National Palace Museum, Taipei and Kaohsiung City Governments, the National Science and Technology Museum, the Land Bank, Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Mega International Bank and private collector Professor Heng-qing Guo. Many issuing companies have also generously donated their products for display at the museum, including items that are representative of the various periods of economic development in Taiwan's history, including cement, Tatung rice cookers, canned pineapple, bicycles, tennis rackets, cell phones and silicon wafers.

Chairperson Ding Kung-Wha also pointed out that currently Korea Securities Depository (KSD) and Shanghai Lidao Securities Museum are the only other two securities museums in Asia, and both provide static displays of artifacts only. In comparison, Taiwan Stock Museum offers a host of exhibitions that are richer, more diverse and livelier. In addition to explaining the derivation and evolution of shares to the visitors, Taiwan Stock Museum also aims to put on display the intimate relationship between the development of the country's stock market and its economic progress, as well as the impact of stock trading to the citizens in society, their daily life and the development of arts and humanities in general. The Stock Museum is full of interesting items and information worth exploring and savoring.

There are a total of five exhibition areas in the Stock Museum. In the Introductory Area (Hall 1), visitors are introduced to various aspects of the stock market and learn more about what stocks are; The next part of the museum (Hall 2) includes information and historical overviews of the first stock certificates issued in countries around the world, including China and Taiwan; In Hall 3, the most influential and far-reaching single stock issuance and listing as well as Taiwan's economic growth and development of the stock market are introduced; The Theatre Area (Hall 4) features an interactive theater which explains the evolution of shares and the stock market; Finally, the Assembly Room (Hall 5) introduces the concept of a centralized share depository to visitors and explains the trends and prospects of scripless issuance of securities. We hope the museum will give visitors the chance to learn more about the stock market in a fun way while also garnering a better understanding of its history and development.