Taipei Exchange

Retail investors (i.e. small investors) can buy government bonds through the following channels:

1. Place a subscription order before the auction of government bond: To purchase government bonds in the amount of NT$1.5 million or less, an investor may place a subscription order at a post office designated by Chunghwa Post or a securities broker designated by Taiwan Stock Exchange. The purchasing unit is NT$100,000, and the price is calculated based on the highest rate offered by successful bidders for the government bond series.
2. Buy and sell government bonds directly from and to Chunghwa Post: A small investor should bring postal passbook or postal giro savings account information to a post office and fill out a “Book-Entry Central Government Bond Account Opening Application” and a “Book-Entry Central Government Bond Signature Card” in duplicates to obtain a book-entry government bond passbook. All government bonds bought and sold later on by the investor will be posted on the passbook.
3. Buy and sell government bonds directly from and to a bond dealer: A small investor should open a book-entry central government bond account at a clearing bank, and bring the account information to a bond dealer and provide the dealer with a photocopy of his or her national ID card or registration certificate to conduct OTC trade of government bonds with the dealer.  The list of bond dealers is available on TPEx website.

Retail investors can buy and sell international bonds, corporate bonds and financial debentures with bond dealers over the counter. It should be noted that some bonds may only be purchased by professional investors or have other restrictions as specified in the terms and conditions of the bonds.

The list of bond dealers is available on TPEx website.

• For International Bond and Straight Corporate Bond, professional investor refers to an investor that meets one of the following conditions prescribed in Taipei Exchange Rules Governing Management of Foreign Currency Denominated International Bonds:
  1. A qualified institutional investor set forth in Article 4, paragraph 2 of the Financial Consumer Protection Act.
  2. A juristic person or fund that meets each of the following requirements and has applied in writing to the securities firm for the status of professional investor:
     1. Its CPA-audited or reviewed financial report for the most recent period shows total assets in excess of NT$50 million. However, the financial reports of juristic persons outside of the ROC need not be CPA-audited or reviewed.
     2. The persons authorized by the investor to conduct trades possess adequate professional knowledge and trading experience with respect to bonds.
     3. The investor fully understands that the securities firm may be exempted from liability for bond trades conducted with a professional investor, and consents to sign for trades as a professional investor.
  3. A natural person who meets each of the following conditions and has applied in writing to the securities firm for the status of professional investor:
     1. Proof of financial resources of NT$30 million or more; or, a single trade in excess of NT$3 million combined with total investment assets at the given securities firm in excess of NT$15 million, along with provision of a written statement of financial resources declaring that the person has total assets of NT$30 million or more.
     2. The investor possesses adequate professional knowledge and trading experience with respect to bonds.
     3. The investor fully understands that the securities firm may be exempted from liability for bond trades conducted with a professional investor, and consents to sign for trades as a professional investor.
• For Financial Debenture, professional investor refers to an investor that meets one of the following criteria prescribed in Regulations Governing Offshore Structured Products:
  1. A professional institutional investor, which includes domestic and foreign banks, insurance companies, bills finance companies, securities firms, fund management companies, government investment institutions, government funds, pension funds, mutual funds, unit trusts, securities investment trust enterprises, securities investment consulting enterprises, trust enterprises, futures commission merchants, futures service enterprises and other institutions approved by the FSC.
  2. A juristic person meeting all of the following criteria and having applied in writing to trust enterprises, securities firms and insurance enterprises (referred to as the "trustees or sub-distributors" hereunder) for the status of a high net worth corporate investor:
     1. A juristic person with net worth exceeding NT$20,000,000,000 according to its latest CPA-audited or reviewed financial report ; notwithstanding the foregoing, the financial reports of juristic persons outside of the Republic of China need not be CPA-audited or reviewed.
     2. The person has a dedicated investment unit, staffed by capable professionals and the unit’s manager meets one of the following conditions.
        1. The manager worked in financial product investment at a financial, securities, futures or insurance institution for more than three years.
        2. The manager has financial product investment experience of more than four years.
        3. The manager possesses other qualifications or experience that show he/she has financial product investment professional knowledge and management experience and can soundly and effectively manage the business of an investment department.
     3. The person holds securities position or derivatives product portfolio exceeding NT$1,000,000,000 according to its latest CPA-audited or reviewed financial report ; notwithstanding the foregoing, the financial reports of juristic persons outside of the Republic of China need not be CPA-audited or reviewed.
     4. The person’s internal control system has suitable investment procedure and risk management measures.
  3. A juristic person or fund with total assets exceeding NT$50,000,000 according to its latest CPA-audited or reviewed financial report; notwithstanding the foregoing, the financial reports of juristic persons outside of the Republic of China need not be CPA-audited or reviewed.
  4. A natural person meeting all of the following criteria and having applied in writing to the trustee or sub-distributor for the status of professional investor
     1. The person has proof of financial capacity of at least NT$30,000,000; or has made a foreign currency denominated investment equivalent to over NT$3,000,000 in value, and in addition, his/her total assets at the trustee or sub-distributor, including deposits and investments (including the aforesaid investment), worth more than NT$15,000,000, and the person has provided a statement undertaking that his or her total assets exceed NT$30,000,000;
     2. The person has sufficient professional knowledge or trading experience in financial products; and
     3. The person understands fully that a trustee or sub-distributor is exempted from certain responsibilities towards professional investors in conducting trust investment and agrees to sign on as a professional investor.
  5. A trust enterprise that has entered into a trust agreement with the trustor and the trustor meets the conditions set forth in Subparagraph 2, 3 or the preceding subparagraph hereof.