As Taiwan raised the COVID-19 alert to Level 3 nationwide on May 19 2021, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced that all publicly traded companies should suspend their shareholder meetings. The rescheduled meeting season will fall between July 1 and August 31. To provide pandemic response measures for companies, the FSC asked TDCC to formulate and revise the Disease Prevention Operating Guidelines for Shareholder Meetings During Level 3 Alarm Period .

The FSC takes pandemic containment at shareholder meetings seriously and hopes to help companies host a smooth shareholder meeting. After discussing with and receiving approval from the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), the FSC stated that from August 16 to 31, publicly traded companies that meet certain requirements may choose to run hybrid meetings where most participants join in-person from the meeting venue and some join remotely from the virtual meeting space. The TDCC is required to expedite the revision of the Operating Guidelines.

Considering that public opinions matter and that printed meeting notices may alleviate the social cost of the postponement, the FSC publicly stated that companies do not have to send over postcards to tell shareholders about the rescheduled date and venue 15 days prior to the general meeting. An announcement on the Market Observation Post System (MOPS) will suffice. With the feedback from the affected companies and the approval of the CECC, the FSC instructed the TDCC to revise the Epidemic Prevention Operating Guidelines for Shareholder Meetings. In the latest version, the numerical limits of participants in a shareholder meeting venue are adjusted according to the pandemic trajectory. Disease prevention measures are also reinforced by adding clauses regarding more frequent disinfection of restrooms at meeting venues and shared items, e.g. microphones and pens. Apart from taking shareholders’ temperature, companies should also help sanitize participants’ hands.

TDCC President Chu Han-Chiang said that the general meetings are delayed amid the pandemic, but the FSC is making every effort to help companies conduct in-person meetings with the aid of virtual meetings. In addition, companies are now exempted from sending over postcards as notices. The regulations on crowd size of shareholder meetings are also revised to facilitate more flexible venue planning and successful general meetings. Therefore, the TDCC calls on companies to expedite the planning and running of shareholder meetings while continuously focusing on pandemic preparedness. Companies hosting shareholder meetings must continue to carry out coronavirus response measures thoroughly. Instructed by the FSC, the TDCC will send inspectors to meeting venues and strictly examine if organizers have properly implemented disease control measures.