Article 20 |
Where a public company intends to issue corporate bonds, it shall retain a credit rating institution approved or recognized by the FSC to evaluate the bonds to be issued and the said institution shall produce a credit rating report as prescribed in the following:
1. The rating report for the unsecured corporate bonds to be issued.
2. The rating report for the secured corporate bonds backed by assets.
3. The rating report for the secured corporate bonds guaranteed by a financial institution, or the ratings report for the most recent year for the financial institution.
For corporate bonds denominated in a foreign currency, the credit rating report referred to in the preceding paragraph shall meet or exceed a certain rating prescribed by the FSC, and an application shall be filed with the GreTai Securities Market for registration for OTC trading. |
Article 21 |
A public company may issue corporate bonds only after it has submitted the Registration Statement for Issuing Corporate Bonds (Attachments 13 and 14), provided all information required therein and sent the registration statement along with relevant documents to the FSC and obtained an effective registration.
In the event the public company registers with the FSC and FSC-designated institutions in accordance with the preceding paragraph, its registration shall become effective 7 business days after the Registration Statement for Issuing Corporate Bonds is received by the FSC and its designated institutions. However, the waiting period for effective registration is 12 business days in the case of a financial holding, bill finance, or credit card enterprise.
The provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 12, Article 15, and Article 16 shall apply mutatis mutandis to public companies that file for registration in accordance with paragraph 1.
After registering for issuing corporate bonds, if the public company changes the terms of issuance or the coupon interest rate and then submits the modified relevant documents to the FSC and FSC-designated institutions before the original registration becomes effective, its registration will become effective in accordance with the time frame prescribed in paragraph 2. |
Article 22 |
In the event the issuer meets all the following conditions simultaneously, it may submit the Shelf Registration Statement for Issuing Corporate Bonds (Attachment 15), provide all information required therein, along with all required documents to the FSC for effective registration. In addition, it shall complete the issuance within the scheduled issuance period.
1. Its stocks have been listed in the stock exchange market or traded in the business places of securities firms for a combined period of 3 years or more. However, this provision does not apply under the following circumstances:
(1) Where the issuer is a government-owned enterprise.
(2) Where the issuer is a financial holding company conforming to Article 4 paragraph 4 of the Financial Holding Company Act providing that the subsidiary bank, subsidiary insurance company, or subsidiary securities firm be listed or its shares be traded in the business places of securities firms for a total of 3 years.
2. It has periodically or non-periodically disclosed its financial information to the public in accordance with Article 36 of the Act or other relevant laws for the past 3 years.
3. There has been no occurrence of rejection, or withdrawal by the FSC with regard to the offering and issuance of securities within the past 3 years. However, this restriction need not apply to the case where, following the date of receiving the notice of effective registration, the issuance has not been fully subscribed and payment thereof has not been fully collected in cash and hence the case has been rejected or revoked by the FSC.
4. The cash capital increase or corporate bond issuance plans effectively registered with the FSC within the past 3 years have been implemented in accordance with the schedules and no material changes have occurred.
5. Within the past year, a credit rating institution approved or recognized by the FSC has rated the issuer or the corporate bonds as up to or above a certain level.
6. The CPAs retained by the issuer have not received a warning or more severe sanctions for their handling of securities offering and issuance within the last 3 years.
7. The lead underwriter retained by the issuer has not been punished in accordance with Article 66, subparagraph 2 of the Act to discharge its director, supervisor, or manager or with more severe sanctions in connection with handling of securities offering and issuance within the last 3 years.
Paragraph 2 of Article 12, Articles 15 and 16, and paragraphs 2 and 4 of the preceding article shall apply mutatis mutandis to the issuer that registers with the FSC in accordance with the preceding paragraph.
The scheduled issuance period referred to in paragraph 1 may not exceed 2 years counting from the date of effective registration. The issuer shall set the said period at the time of registering with the FSC.
Where an issuer issues corporate bonds during the scheduled issuance period, it shall consign an underwriter to underwrite the issuance on a firm commitment basis. |
Article 23 |
When issuing corporate bonds within the scheduled issuance period as referred to in the preceding Article, the issuer shall, on the next business day after it has put such issuance plan in public announcement in accordance with Article 252 of the Company Act and completed payment collection, submit the Supplementary Form for the Shelf Registration for Issuing Corporate Bonds (Attachment 16) completed with all required information, together with required documents, to the FSC for recordation.
In case of change of CPA or lead underwriter retained by the issuer during the scheduled issuance period as referred in the preceding Article, qualifications prescribed in paragraph 1, subparagraph 6 or 7 of the preceding article shall apply to the succeeding CPA or lead underwriter.
The FSC may suspend the additional issuance of corporate bonds supplemental to the current issuance in case where an issuer violates Articles 7 and 8 and paragraph 1 of the preceding article during the scheduled issuance period. |
Article 24 |
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Article 25 |
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Article 26 |
A public company may issue exchangeable corporate bonds whose repayment subject is the stocks, held by the public company for more than 2 years, of a listed company or a company whose shares are traded at the business places of securities firms in accordance with Article 3 of the GreTai Securities Market Rules Governing Review of Securities Traded on Over-the-Counter Markets.
A public company may issue exchangeable corporate bonds only after it has submitted the Registration Statement for Issuing Exchangeable Corporate Bonds (Attachment 17), provided all information required therein, along with required documents to the FSC, and after such registration becomes effective.
Paragraph 2 of Article 12, Articles 15 and 16, and paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 21 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the public company registering with the FSC in accordance with the preceding paragraph. However, the waiting period for effective registration is 12 business days in the case of a financial holding, banking, bill finance, or credit card enterprise.
When issuing exchangeable corporate bonds, the issuer shall set out the following items in the terms of issuance and exchange:
1. Article 29, paragraph 1, subparagraphs 1 through 8, 10, 11, 13, and 17 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
2. The procedures for requesting exchange and the ways of payment.
3. The deposit procedures for the underlying shares.
Unless otherwise regulated by related laws, the aforementioned deposit procedure shall be conducted by a centralized securities depository enterprise. During the period of deposit, the underlying shares may not be pledged or retrieved.
The bondholder who requests for exchange shall fill out the Exchange Request Form and submits the form along with the bonds in question to the issuer or its agent. The exchange becomes effective at the time of receipt of the aforementioned documents. After receiving the exchange request from the bondholder, the issuer or its agent shall deliver the exchange underlying stock to the bondholder within the next business day. If the exchange results in odd-lot units of less than 1,000 shares, the stocks can be delivered within 5 business days.
When issuing exchangeable corporate bonds, the issuer shall engage securities underwriter(s) to handle a public offering of the entire issuance, to which the provisions of Article 30, Article 32, paragraph 1, Article 35, and Article 38 shall apply mutatis mutandis. |