Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation

To facilitate corporate governance and active ownership by shareholders, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) is promoting e-voting step by step. Voting has become more convenient for shareholders. With the competent authority’s guide, all TWSE-listed and TPEx-listed companies in Taiwan will adopt e-voting this year, reaching a new milestone for corporate governance.

To celebrate this achievement, strengthen corporate governance, and improve communication with shareholders, Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation (TDCC), along with Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and Taipei Exchange (TPEx) as co-organizers, will hold the 100% E-voting and Corporate Value Enhancement Forum: From the Perspectives of Corporate Governance, Institutional Investors, and Voting Consulting Firms. The forum will invite the competent authority, professionals and investment institution representatives at home and abroad to share their experience and ideas. Thus, the market will know more about international trends and can improve corporate governance in Taiwan.

The investment environment of the capital market in Taiwan is quite pleasant, attracting a lot of foreign institutional investors. Foreign investment took 40% of the market value in Taiwan at the end of 2017. Moreover, with the promotion of the competent authority, domestic institutional investors are also supporting and signing the stewardship code, which means that investor relations (IR) is more and more important to corporate development. The positive interaction between issuers and investors can realize corporate governance and enhance the transparency and visibility of issuers, drawing more long-term support from investors and facilitating sustainability.

Thus, the forum invites issuers who are in the top 5% of corporate governance rankings in Taiwan and who are successful in IR to share their experience. Well-known domestic speakers will talk about corporate governance and shareholder communication, including He Li-Mei, CFO and Spokesperson of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC); Li Zhang-Geng, President of Cathay Financial Holdings; Zheng Jun-Qing, President of Taiwan Mobile; Chen Jin-Cai, Chairperson of Win Semiconductors; Ye Chang-Jing, President of PharmaEngine; and Huang Nan-Zhou, President and Spokesperson of E.SUN Financial Holding;

As for foreign speakers, the forum invites Ms. Kerrie Waring from ICGN and Mr. Warren Chen from Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a renown international voting consulting. They will deliver keynote speeches on the Latest International Development of Corporate Governance and the Key Issues About Voting Policies and Shareholders’ Meetings in the Taiwanese Market. Important institutional investors are also invited, including BlackRock, a well-known fund company; Hermes, the major pension company in the UK; and APG and PGGM, the major pension companies in the Netherlands. Representatives of Glass Lewis, an international voting consulting, and the representatives of said institutional investors will attend the penal discussion. They will exchange ideas about their observation and expectations about Taiwan’s market. As a result, TWSE-listed and TPEx-listed companies can obtain more key advice and information on shareholders’ meetings and make thorough preparation.

In the CG Watch 2016 Report released by Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) in September 2016, Taiwan ranked fourth among Asian countries, trailing only behind Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan. The credit goes to the explosive growth of e-voting, the high attendance rate of institutional investors in shareholders’ meetings, the increasing exposure of English information, and the improved quality of shareholders’ meetings. With the enforcement of relative policies of the competent authority, the promotion of universal e-voting, and the discussion results of the forum, it is believed that Taiwan’s corporate governance quality will be enhanced, and the value and attractiveness of Taiwanese enterprises will also increase.