Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation

TDCC convened its 2021 annual general meeting (AGM) on August 25 and passed a resolution to distribute a cash dividend of NT$4.5 per share and stock dividend of NT$1.2 per share.

TDCC has strived to evolve and stay innovative in a changing environment shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic and the arrival of the digital era. After years of diversification, TDCC has expanded its business horizons to securities, futures, funds and fixed income, and delivered substantial growth in the provision of services including digital finance, corporate governance, platform economy, market supervisory support and globalization. The benefits of digital transition can be seen clearly in the firm’s stellar 2020 results.

In terms of building a digital finance environment, TDCC’s e-PASSBOOK application has accumulated over 2.6 million users since its launch four years ago. In response to market needs and the Financial Supervisory Commission’s open banking policy, TDCC has worked with seven local banks as a third-party service provider by linking its e- PASSBOOK application to investors’ bank accounts so that they can have an overview of balances and account statements across different banks for better portfolio management.

TDCC has been working on the registration of dematerialized issuance of CP2 and other issuance documents. It is the first to apply the Blockchain technology to verify transactions of bonds and bills, of which prices are negotiated at a brokerage premise, and the subsequent delivery of certificates. This has markedly improved the operating efficiency and security of digital trading as fixed income traders are spared the troubles of settlement by mail.

The experimental voluntary pension investment program launched by TDCC adopts the dollar-cost averaging strategy, and has been well-received by investors. In 2020, TDCC rolled out another pension investment program, and has to date attracted 70,000 individuals to invest a total of NT$670 million per month in preparation for a decent life after retirement.

TDCC also used digital technologies to establish Big Data analysis platforms to provide visualized, real-time interactive information regarding fund markets, shareholder e-voting, corporate action auditing, insurers’ overseas investments and the bill market to facilitate “precision supervision” by competent authorities. The establishment of the SupTech Platform for bills finance companies, which is based on the government’s “FinTech Development Roadmap,” is an example of TDCC’s efforts in providing visualized, real-time interactive information for better supervision.

As far as corporate governance is concerned, under the instructions of competent authorities, TDCC drew up the “Operating Guidelines for Epidemic Prevention at Shareholder Meetings” for the reference of all companies in Taiwan. It also fostered partnerships with global major ESG rating institutions to collectively launch the first comprehensive ESG information platform in the world, which aims to improve Taiwan’s rating in corporate governance across the world. In 2021, TDCC rolled out a live streaming platform for shareholder meetings upon the request of competent authorities. The live streaming platform provides integrated services that are in line with global mainstream practices, covering shareholder registration, sign-in, live streaming, and online Q&A, voting and vote counting. The live streaming platform served seventeen companies this year, providing shareholders with a new option to attend AGMs without compromising the epidemic prevention efforts.

As for globalization, TDCC expanded its footprint from the Asia-Pacific region to Eurasia by signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Settlement Depository of Russia, paving the way for bilateral exchanges in the future. Also, based on the government’s “Capital Market Blueprint,” TDCC and the Taiwan Stock Exchange collectively hosted a webinar for capital market exchanges between Taiwan and Mongolia to share Taiwan’s success stories in adopting the T+2 settlement system, which Mongolia aim to follow suit.

Upon the recommendation of competent authorities, TDCC participated in the Executive Yuan’s drill of protecting essential national infrastructure in 2020, and took about seven months to complete the preparatory work. TDCC played its part and worked successfully with other participants during the official drill in maintaining stable operation of Taiwan’s financial market. TDCC’s efforts were highly recognized and thus won itself a special merit awarded by the Executive Yuan.

Regarding corporate social responsibility, TDCC has remained committed to supporting education in rural area and care for the disadvantageous. In 2020, TDCC won the Asia Responsible Enterprise Award (social benefits development category) of Enterprise Asia, the Excellence in CSR Award of CommonWealth Magazine, the Taiwan Corporate Sustainability Awards (Corporate Sustainability Reports, and Growth through Innovation Leadership categories), and Sports Activist Awards of the Ministry of Education, to name just a few.

TDCC Chairman and CEO Sherman Lin emphasized at the AGM that TDCC is a data service company and a hub of public data for Taiwan’s capital market. As its 40th anniversary is approaching, TDCC is transforming into a center of financial Big Data that values both digitalization and information security. Moving forward, TDCC aims to build a brand new ecosystem of FinTech services where all market participants can co-exist and prosper, ultimately strengthening the capital market of Taiwan.