Chapter II Public Offering Procedure for Funds
Article 3
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) shall employ either the application for approval system or the filing for effective registration system to review the public offering and issuance of securities investment trust funds.
"Application approval" in the preceding paragraph refers to where the FSC reviews the relevant documents provided by a SITE and grants approval if no irregularities are discovered.
"Effective registration" in paragraph 1 refers to where a SITE duly prepares all relevant documents and files them with the FSC for registration, with the registration becoming effective a prescribed number of business days after the date on which the FSC receives the registration documents unless the registration documents do not furnish all the required particulars, supplementation or explanation is required to protect the public interest, or the filing is rejected by the FSC.
"Business days" in the preceding paragraph means days on which trading takes place in securities markets.
Article 3-1
The FSC may commission the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation, Taipei Exchange, or Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation to handle extension cases under Article 7, paragraph 2, and securities investment trust fund public offering or follow-on offering cases under Articles 12 to 13, and to prescribe the format and content of the application (or registration) documents under Article 33, paragraph 1.
When the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation, Taipei Exchange, or Taiwan Depository and Clearing Corporation has been commissioned by the FSC to handle a case under the preceding paragraph, if after an application has been approved or registration has become effective it subsequently is discovered that there exists a ground for voidance or revocation of the approval or effective registration as set out in these Regulations, the FSC may order the commissioned institution to void or revoke the approval or effective registration.
Article 4
Under any of the circumstances listed below, the FSC may reject or deny approval of a SITE's application (or filing for effective registration) to publicly offer, or make a follow-on offering of, a securities investment trust fund:
1. Application or filing particulars violate acts or regulations, affecting the public offering or follow-on offering of the securities investment trust fund.
2. A SITE applies (or registers) to publicly offer, or make a follow-on offering of, a securities investment trust fund within 3 months from the date on which it receives notification from the FSC that an application (or registration) is rejected, denied approval, voided, or revoked, or on which it withdrew an application (or registration) at its own discretion.
3. An application (or registration) already submitted to the FSC has not yet been approved (or become effective).
4. Based on the SITE's application (or registration) documents, there is factual proof of inability to carry out the issuance plan.
5. The plan for the securities investment trust fund public offering was not placed on the agenda, raised at a board meeting for discussion, and passed by resolution.
6. The submitted application (or registration) documents are not submitted in full or do not furnish all the required particulars, and supplementation cannot be submitted in full prior to the deadline set by the FSC.
7. A financial report of the SITE or of a securities investment trust fund it manages has not been prepared in accordance with relevant acts and regulations or generally accepted accounting principles, and the circumstances are serious.
8. The design or implementation of its internal control system is materially deficient.
9. In the most recent period, net worth per share was lower than par value. However, this restriction does not apply where fewer than 2 full fiscal years have elapsed since the SITE business license was acquired.
10. The FSC has, pursuant to the SITC Act, suspended acceptance of its applications (or registrations) to publicly offer securities investment trust funds, and the suspension period has not yet expired.
11. The securities investment trust fund currently to be publicly offered is not adequately segregated from existing security investment trust funds in terms of basic investment policy or scope, or its investment instruments are clearly inappropriate.
12. There has been a serious violation of securities acts and regulations or a securities investment trust contract.
13. Within the past year, any error, omission, misrepresentation, or non-disclosure of a serious nature is discovered regarding an already-approved or effectively registered case for a public offering or follow-on offering of a securities investment trust fund for which a declaration was previously submitted to the FSC stating that the application (registration) documentation was correct and complete.
14. The FSC believes for some other reason that [rejection or denial of approval] is needed to protect the public interest.
Article 5
In addition to applying the provisions of the preceding article, the FSC may also reject or deny approval to an application (filing) by a SITE for a securities investment trust fund to be invested in foreign securities where any of the circumstances listed below exist:
1. In the most recent year, a warning or more serious disposition was imposed under Article 66 of the Securities and Exchange Act, or Article 103 of the SITC Act, provided that this restriction shall not apply where the circumstances of the violation have been specifically corrected and the correction has been recognized by the FSC.
2. The applicant (or registrant) lacks the ability to research and invest in foreign securities markets and has not acquired global investment skills by establishing a cooperative relationship with a foreign investment consulting enterprise with an eye to enhancing its investment capabilities.
3. In the most recent year, a securities investment trust fund recommendation was made that involved conjecture regarding New Taiwan Dollar exchange rate trends.
Article 6
If a SITE applies (registers) to publicly offer, or make a follow-on offering of, a securities investment trust fund, and during the period between submission of its application (or registration) to the FSC and the time of application approval or effective registration, its financial or business status undergoes a material change or there is a change in the content of its application (or registration) documentation that has a material effect on the issuance plan, the SITE shall report it to the FSC within 2 days of the date of occurrence of the fact, and shall engage either a lawyer or certified public accountant (CPA), depending on the nature of the matter, to provide an opinion regarding its impact on the current offering plan, which it shall then file with the FSC.
Article 7
Within 1 month after a SITE's business license is approved and issued, unless it is an other-industry enterprise concurrently conducting securities investment trust business, it shall apply to publicly offer a securities investment trust fund that complies with the following provisions:
1. It is a domestically offered and domestically invested equity-type securities investment trust fund or balanced securities investment trust fund.
2. The minimum funding requirement for establishment of the securities investment trust fund is NT$2 billion.
3. For a closed-end securities investment trust fund, the beneficial interest unit dispersion standard shall comply with the provisions of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation Rules for Review of Securities Listings.
4. For an open-ended securities investment trust fund, beneficiaries may not commence application for redemption until 3 months after the date on which the fund was established.
After submitting an application (or filing) to offer a securities investment trust fund and obtaining application approval (or effective registration), the SITE shall commence the offering within 6 months after the date on which it receives written notification of approval or effective registration, and establish the fund within 30 days thereafter, provided that if for a legitimate reason the SITE is unable to commence the offering within 6 months, prior to the deadline it may apply to the FSC for a one-time extension not to exceed 6 months.
Article 8
After a SITE has obtained application approval or effective registration for the public offering of a securities investment trust fund, except as otherwise provided by the FSC, it may carry out a follow-on offering if for the 5 business days preceding the application (or registration) date, the average ratio of the number of units already issued to the number of units to be issued under the original application approval or effective registration is 80 percent or higher.
Article 9
Before a securities investment trust fund is established, beneficial interest certificates may not be issued; a SITE shall produce beneficial interest certificates and deliver them to subscribers within 30 days from the date on which the securities investment trust fund is established.
Beneficial interest certificates may be issued in scripless form and delivered by book-entry transfer.
Article 10
After a SITE has obtained application approval (or effective registration) to publicly offer, or make a follow-on offering of, a securities investment trust fund, the FSC may void or revoke the approval or effective registration if it discovers any of the following circumstances:
1. The public offering did not commence or [the fund] was not established by the deadline set forth in Article 7 herein, calculated from the date on which the SITE received notification of application approval or effective registration.
2. Violation of the provisions of Article 8 of the SITC Act.
3. Violation of the provisions of Article 6 herein.
4. The SITE fails to act in accordance with the provisions of Article 81 of the SITC Act by announcing, and reporting to the FSC, matters having a material impact on the rights and interests of investors within 2 days of occurrence of the fact.
5. Other violation of these Regulations, or of the restrictions or prohibitions of the FSC in force at the time of application approval or effective registration.
When a SITE's approval or effective registration is voided or revoked, it shall handle the relevant matters as stipulated in the securities investment trust contract.
Article 11
The application approval or effective registration of a SITE's public offering, or follow-on offering, of a securities investment trust fund may not be cited in publicity as verification of its application (or registration) particulars, or as a guarantee of the value of the securities investment trust fund.
Article 12
A SITE may not commence a public offering or follow-on offering of a securities investment trust fund until it has filed for effective registration by submitting to the FSC a filing furnishing the required particulars together with the required documents. However, a SITE to which any of the circumstances set out in Article 12-1 applies, or that makes a public offering under Article 7, paragraph 1 and Article 18, subparagraph 1 herein or Article 23, subparagraph 9 of the Regulations Governing Securities Investment Trust Funds, shall apply for approval from the FSC.
A SITE that files for effective registration under the preceding paragraph shall obtain a review opinion from the Securities Investment Trust and Consulting Association of the R.O.C. ("SITCA").
When a SITE makes any of the following public offerings pursuant to paragraph 1, its registration will become effective after a prescribed number of business days from the date upon which the FSC receives the filing:
1. In the case of a public offering of a securities investment trust fund set out in Article 23, subparagraphs 1 to 8 of the Regulations Governing Securities Investment Trust Funds that is limited to domestic investment, the registration will become effective when 12 full business days have elapsed counting inclusively from the date upon which the FSC receives the filing.
2. In the case of a public offering of a securities investment trust fund set out in Article 23, subparagraphs 1 to 8 of the Regulations Governing Securities Investment Trust Funds that is not limited to domestic investment, the registration will become effective when 30 full business days have elapsed counting inclusively from the date upon which the FSC receives the filing. However, for a SITE that meets the conditions prescribed by the FSC, the foregoing period for effective registration will be reduced to 12 business days.
3. In the case of a follow-on offering of any type of securities investment trust funds, the registration will become effective when 7 full business days have elapsed counting inclusively from the date upon which the FSC receives the filing.
Where a SITE fails to file registration documents in full or the documents do not furnish all the required particulars, or where any of the circumstances under Article 6 herein have occurred, but it submits supplementation in full of its own accord prior to being notified by the competent authority of the suspension of effective registration, its registration shall become effective when the effective registration period of the preceding paragraph has elapsed, counting from the date on which the competent authority receives the supplementary documentation.
If the public offering or follow-on offering in a filing for effective registration under paragraph 1 involves inward or outward remittance of funds, or the fund is a money market securities investment trust fund, the SITE shall obtain a letter of consent from the Central Bank before it may conduct the offering. This requirement shall not apply, however, if consent from the Central Bank has been obtained pursuant to Article 18, subparagraph 2.
Article 12-1
If any of the following circumstances exists, the filing-for-approval system shall be employed for any public offering of a securities investment trust fund by the SITE, unless there is a need to do otherwise to deal with market conditions or protect the public interest and the FSC has otherwise approved:
1. The most recently established securities investment trust fund for which 6 months have already elapsed from the first day of the redemption period has, during that 6-month period, undergone a reduction by 50 percent or more of its average total number of issued units compared to the date of its establishment.
2. The public offering is the first one made by the SITE after its effective registration has been suspended twice or more within 1 year by the FSC.
3. The public offering is the first one made by a SITE after it has been issued a warning or more serious disposition under Article 103 of the SITC Act or the design or operation of its internal control system has been found materially deficient, and the circumstances of the violation have been specifically corrected and the correction has been recognized by the FSC.
4. The public offering is one for which the FSC requires that a statement or letter issued by the foreign competent authority or other institution be obtained.
The funds referred to in subparagraph 1 of the preceding paragraph means those established after the issuance of the 21 October 2014 amendments to these Regulations.
Article 13
Except where proceeding in accordance with the provisions of Article 12, a SITE shall first submit an application form furnishing all required particulars together with the required documents to the SITCA to review and forward to the FSC for approval prior to publicly offering of a securities investment trust fund.
Where the SITE fails to submit the application documents in full or the documents do not furnish all the required particulars, and supplementation has not been submitted in full prior to the deadline set by the FSC, the application may be rejected.
If the public offering in an application for approval under paragraph 1 involves inward or outward remittance of funds, or the fund is a money market securities investment trust fund, the FSC shall grant approval only after consulting with the Central Bank and obtaining its consent. This requirement shall not apply, however, if consent from the Central Bank has already been obtained pursuant to Article 18.
Article 14
Where any of the following circumstances exist regarding a SITE registration to publicly offer, or make a follow-on offering of, a securities investment trust fund, the FSC may suspend the effectiveness of its registration:
1. The filing is not submitted in full or does not furnish all the required particulars.
2. Any of the circumstances under Article 6 herein have arisen.
3. The FSC believes suspension is needed to protect the public interest.
Article 15
Beginning on the date on which a SITE receives notification of suspension of effective registration, it may submit supplementation to address the reason(s) for suspension of effective registration, and apply to lift the suspension; if the FSC does not again notify it to submit supplementation and does not reject its filing, the registration shall become effective when the effective registration period set out in Article 12, paragraph 3 has elapsed, counting inclusively from the date on which the FSC receives the supplementary documents.
After an effective registration is suspended by the FSC under the preceding article, if the SITE does not apply to lift the suspension in accordance with the preceding paragraph within 12 business days, counting inclusively from the date on which it receives the written notice of suspension, or if it applies to lift the suspension but the original reasons for the suspension still exist, the FSC may reject its case.
Article 16
A SITE that publicly offers a securities investment trust fund shall deliver simplified prospectuses before subscribers deliver subscription applications and pay the subscription amount in full, and shall provide the prospectus to the subscriber upon request, provided that for a securities investment trust fund publicly offered overseas, the SITE shall act in accordance with the acts and regulations of the jurisdiction in which the public offering is made.
The prospectus in the preceding paragraph shall be prepared in accordance with the Regulations Governing Information to Be Published in Prospectuses by Securities Investment Trust Enterprises Offering Securities Investment Trust Funds.
Article 18
Where any of the circumstances listed below exist regarding a SITE's public offering or follow-on offering of a securities investment trust fund, it shall obtain consent from the Central Bank before filing for effective registration with or applying for approval from the FSC pursuant to Article 12, paragraph 1:
1. It is an overseas public offering or follow-on offering of a securities investment trust fund that will be domestically invested.
2. It is a securities investment trust fund denominated in a foreign currency.