Shareholder Meeting Proxy Solicitation to Go Digital, Launching March 2027

(CNA) - The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) announced today that considering the current paper-based submission of proxy solicitation information for shareholder meetings to companies and copies to the Securities and Futures Institute, which incurs significant labor costs, it has announced amendments to the "Regulations Governing the Use of Proxies by Publicly Issuing Companies for Shareholder Meetings." The paper-based submission will be replaced by electronic submission. As of the end of June, 3,190 publicly issuing companies are subject to these regulations, and the change is expected to take effect in March 2027.

Wang Hsiu-ling, Chief Secretary of the FSC's Securities and Futures Bureau, stated that the current practice of proxy solicitors submitting solicitation information in paper form is not only labor-intensive but also prevents systematic record-keeping. To promote the digitalization of shareholder services, the FSC has drafted amendments to the "Regulations Governing the Use of Proxies by Publicly Issuing Companies for Shareholder Meetings" and has opened them for a 60-day public comment period.

Wang Hsiu-ling explained that under the current system, solicitors must submit proxy solicitation forms and other related documents in paper to the company and a copy to the Securities and Futures Institute. The Institute must then disclose a summary table of solicitor information on its platform before the meeting. Currently, this information is in PDF format, making structured processing difficult.

Wang Hsiu-ling pointed out that this amendment primarily revises 9 articles. After the revision, solicitors will transmit proxy solicitation information electronically to the Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation's (TDCC) information reporting website. Companies will then be required to transmit the consolidated solicitor information to the information reporting website to complete the disclosure.

Furthermore, Wang Hsiu-ling stated that to ensure consistency in reporting, facilitate operations for companies and their shareholder service agents, and aid public inquiries, it will be stipulated that companies or their shareholder service agents must transmit a statistical table summarizing the number of shares solicited by solicitors and the number of shares represented by proxy agents on the day of the shareholder meeting to the information reporting website.

The FSC indicated that considering the changes in operational processes for solicitors and companies involved in solicitation, and to allow the public sufficient time for understanding and adjustment, these amendments will come into effect on March 1, 2025. (Editor: Chang Chun-mao) 1150702

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