Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation

The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced domestic infections with unknown sources on May 11. From now on, all gatherings must practice social distancing, or ensure mask-wearing or partition installation at all times. Organizers or business owners should keep a record of participants’ or customers’ contact information, take temperatures, disinfect environments, and impose crowd controls, capacity limits, and route planning. Outdoor gatherings with over 500 people and indoor gatherings with over 100 people should comply with the regulations of pandemic prevention.

Since this year’s shareholder meeting of the TWSE/TPEx-listed companies is getting under way in Taiwan, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has asked the Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation (TDCC) to keep checking and revising the Disease Prevention Operating Guidelines for Shareholder Meetings to ensure the measures are up-to-date. By doing so, companies can continue with their shareholder meetings without compromising pandemic containment. Mr. Chen Tzu-Ting, the TDCC Senior Vice President, said that according to the prevention measures in the Disease Prevention Operating Guidelines for Shareholder Meetings 3.0 released in 2020, shareholders need to wear masks at all times and have their temperatures taken. Issuers should sanitize the meeting venues, maintain good ventilation, and use checkerboard seating or keep every other seat empty. Meeting planners should create proper flow patterns and conduct crowd management during check-in, entering, and exiting. The signage for route navigation should be clear enough for shareholders to read and should conform to the government’s current policies.

Senior Vice President Chen stated that the TWSE/TPEx-listed companies’ measures to tackle shareholder meetings amidst the pandemic last year have been recognized. This year, companies will look at their past attendance data to estimate the number of investors who will attend in person. Issuers will also properly plan the room size to ensure enough distance when shareholders enter the conference room. Shareholder meetings are minimizing their total on-site population, including staff and participants. Other than that, some issuers will prepare the second and third backup venues in case of more than 100 attendees. In this case, shareholders will be guided to the second or third shareholder meeting rooms in an orderly fashion. In conclusion, issuers should hold their 2021 shareholder meetings according to the Disease Prevention Operating Guidelines for Shareholder Meetings 3.0. Meanwhile, they can also make an announcement on their official websites or the Market Observation Post System (MOPS) to include warnings that coronavirus risk rises due to exposure in a crowd and close human contacts; thus, e-voting is a recommended approach for shareholders to exercise their voting rights.

As the Covid-19 pandemic is still a severe one, TDCC is calling on investors to help curb the disease by using e-voting channels. With e-voting, shareholders can not only protect their rights without physically being there, but they can also protect themselves from getting infected.