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Taiwan has a stable exchange rate and a mature securities market. The revision of relevant
laws and regulations in recent years has eased the requirements imposed on fund-raising in
Taiwan by foreign companies and simplified administrative procedures, which has attracted
many foreign companies to seek listings in Taiwan. As of the end of 2023, there were 997 listed
companies in Taiwan, of which 79 were foreign companies, accounting for 7.92% of Taiwan's
listed companies. Of the 816 OTC companies, 30 were foreign companies, or 3.68% of all OTC
companies. The P/E ratio of the foreign companies listed in Taiwan (28.13 times) was slightly
lower than that of all listed companies (21.12 times). The turnover rate (232.09%) for foreign Advantageous Environment
companies is higher than that of all listed companies (113.83%). The market is very accepting
of foreign companies and enthusiasm for transactions helps listed companies to conduct
secondary offerings.
Financial Liberalization
Restrictions that prevented foreigners from investing in Taiwans' financial
intermediary industries (including banking, bills finance firms, credit card
issuance companies, and financial holding companies) and the insurance
industry (including life insurance, property insurance, and reinsurance)
have been lifted. Foreigners are now permitted to own up to 100% of the
shares of a Taiwan financial institution.
In order to comprehensively develop Taiwan's international finance sector,
59 banks have been approved to set up offshore banking units (OBUs),
18 securities brokers have been approved to establish offshore securities
units (OSUs) and 20 insurance companies have been approved to
establish offshore insurance units (OIUs), accounting for 8.57% of the
total assets of the banks, securities companies, and insurance companies
as of the end of 2023.
In order to facilitate banks in providing foreign exchange services to
customers, banks continue to be approved as designated foreign
exchange banks. As the end of February 2024, there were 3,470
approved designated foreign exchange banks, including on online-only
bank.
In addition, to further strengthen domestic financial infrastructure, a
multi-currency foreign currency settlement platform that conforms to
international standards has been established to improve the efficiency of
domestic and foreign currency remittances and reduce settlement risk.
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