Commercial banks given the green light to invest in private and emerging stocks

September 6, 2004

The Bureau of Monetary Affairs of the Financial Supervisory Commission has announced revised regulations that allow commercial banks to invest in privately issued securities (including stocks and corporate bonds) and emerging stocks. The move is expected to increase the flexibility and profitability of funds available to commercial banks and further enliven the domestic financial markets. The main revisions include:

• Special permission is no longer need for the purchase of debentures issued by international or regional financial institutions.
• Commercial banks are allowed to invest in securities of which the credit rating reaches a set level, including emerging stocks, privately issued stocks, and privately issued corporate bonds.

Emerging stocks are "preparatory listings" offered before the stocks are actually listed on the main board of the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

E-mail this page.