The Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) is pleased to share that after nearly four years of promotional and advocacy efforts starting from the promulgation of the "Corporate Governance Roadmap "（hereinafter "the Roadmap"） in 2013, quantitative data for this period has shown significant progress.
 
According to statistics on shareholders' meetings, up to 90% of TWSE-listed companies (a total of 787) have adopted poll voting in 2017, which increased by 26% compared to 627 in 2016. In 2017, more than 80% of the listed companies have implemented electronic voting in 2017, which is a 53% increase compared to 475 companies in 2016. In addition, close to 65% of the listed companies now have nomination systems for election of directors and supervisors in their Articles of Association, which is a 38% increase compared to only 422 companies in 2016.
 
The TWSE stated that in addition to the substantial quality improvement for shareholders' meetings, all other items promoted by the Roadmap have also shown strong results. In terms of the “Board of Directors Structures and Operations”, it was previously announced the scope of application regarding mandatory independent directors and audit committee establishment was done in phases to strengthen the internal control mechanisms. In 2017, a total of 900 listed companies have established independent directors. A total of 446 listed companies have also set up audit committees by June 2017, representing a 50% increase from 327 listed companies at the end of 2016.
 
For "information disclosure", 81 TWSE-listed companies filed their 2016 annual financial reports one month earlier than the March 2017 deadline, an increase of 16%.
This is important for shareholders as it allows them further time to make more informed investment decisions, especially for foreign shareholders as English AGM notices had a 46% jump in 2017. The number of companies releasing English agendas also increased from 183 to 231; and the number of companies releasing English annual reports also rose from 144 to 173. Information transparency has clearly improved.
 
In terms of "non-financial information disclosure," a total of 212 listed companies have filed their CSR reports to the M.O.P.S as of July 20, 2017. Among them, 179 were mandated by the regulations and 33 were voluntary. There are also 74 listed companies that can postpone their CSR report issuance deadlines until December 31, 2017 pursuant to the rule. Compared to the 275 CSR reports filed in 2016, at least 330 listed companies are anticipated to submit their CSR reports by the end of 2017. The additional 55 listed companies represent an approximately 20% increase.
 
The release of the Roadmap has effectively prompted listed companies to assign importance to the corporate governance mechanism. The TWSE emphasizes that a good corporate governance practice is crucial to a sound capital market and the key to attracting long-term investors. The TWSE will cultivate the feedback from investor groups in order to improve the quality of the capital market and listed company competitiveness. Corporate governance-related statistics can be found on the Corporate Governance Center’s Statistics area (http://cgc.twse.com.tw/).

 

Items / No. of companies		2017*	Growth%	2016	Growth%	2015	Growth%	2014
Protecting Shareholder Rights and Interests/ Treating Shareholders Equitably	Adoption of a nomination system for directors and supervisors in their Articles of Association	584	38%	424	32%	322	60%	201
	Adoption of electronic voting	728	53%	475	86%	256	35%	190
	Hold the AGM before the end of May	91	3%	88	42%	62	44%	43
	Adoption of poll voting at the AGM	787	26%	627	60%	393	53%	257
	The average filing date of Annual Report prior to the day of the AGM (avg. date)	18	0%	18	13%	16	12%	14
	The average filing date of Meeting Handbook prior to the day of the AGM (avg. date)	31	2%	30	6%	29	12%	26
Enhancing Board Composition and Operation	Set up an Audit Committee	446	36%	327	35%	243	43%	170
	Set up independent directors	900	14%	787	23%	638	31%	488
Increasing Information Transparency	Listed companies reporting their audited annual financial results within two months	81	16%	70	49%	47	114%	22
	Filing English AGM Notices	386	46%	264	98%	133	82%	73
	Filing English Annual Report	173	20%	144	35%	107	34%	80
	Filing English Meeting Handbook at the AGM	231	26%	183	40%	131	64%	80

*According to statistics as of June 30, 2017