Taiwan FSC to Review Threshold for Attention Stocks, Shorten 'Lockdown' Period for Disposition Stocks

(Central News Agency, Taipei, June 10) The recent designation of high-priced stock MediaTek as a disposition stock, triggering a 'lockdown' measure, sparked debate. According to an FSC review report, considering the continuous growth of Taiwan's capital market in recent years, the standards for announcing attention and disposition stocks should be reviewed in line with market structure changes. The FSC will instruct the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) and the Taipei Exchange (TPEx) to evaluate and plan reasonable warning standards for attention stocks, adjusted for stock price increases, and to assess the feasibility of shortening the disposition period.

Market observers expect the FSC to potentially relax the criteria for being listed as an attention stock and reduce the 'lockdown' period.

IC design house MediaTek was recently subject to disposition trading, becoming the largest disposition stock by market capitalization in Taiwan's stock market history, drawing significant attention. The Finance Committee of the Legislative Yuan had previously requested the FSC to report on its review of the attention and disposition stock system, and the FSC promised to submit an evaluation report within one month.

The FSC's evaluation report, released today, states that Taiwan's system for announcing attention and disposition stocks is a trading warning and cooling mechanism designed to alert investors to trading risks and ensure settlement security. Through measures such as risk warnings, pre-collection of funds/securities, and extended matching times, it can reduce the impact of abnormal trading on market order and settlement security. Many Asian countries currently adopt similar measures, so the system remains necessary at this stage.

However, given the continuous growth of Taiwan's capital market scale, active market trading, and significant increases in stock price indices and levels, some standards for announcing attention and disposition stocks need timely review in line with market structure changes. To balance market management, investor protection, and system rationality, the FSC will instruct the TWSE and TPEx to review and refine the relevant systems in stages.

First, short-term goals. The FSC noted that the stock market has repeatedly hit new highs. As of May 25, there were approximately 50 stocks priced above NT$1,000, and the average daily trading volume for 2026 (Minguo 115) was nearly NT$1 trillion. Compared to 2024 (Minguo 113), when the market surpassed 20,000 points, the number of companies with stock prices above NT$1,000, average daily trading volume, and market scale have all increased significantly. The FSC will instruct the TWSE and TPEx to evaluate and plan reasonable warning standards for attention stocks, adjusted for stock price increases, to achieve the warning purpose.

Furthermore, the FSC has recently been actively strengthening the disclosure of various financial and business information in the capital market and encouraging listed and OTC companies to increase the frequency of investor conferences. The efficiency of information transmission for various financial and business data has become faster, and information is more transparent. Coupled with technological advancements accelerating information dissemination, the FSC will instruct the TWSE and TPEx to assess the feasibility of shortening the disposition period.

Second, medium-to-long-term goals. The FSC will continue to collect international trends on related systems, solicit opinions from experts, scholars, investors, and market participants, and comprehensively review the appropriateness of the attention and disposition stock system to balance market efficiency, trading order, and investor rights protection.

Currently, the TWSE and TPEx conduct daily market surveillance. If the trading price or volume of a security reaches certain abnormal standards, its trading information is announced after the market closes, designating it as an 'Attention Security'. If attention trading information is published for consecutive or several trading days, it is designated as a 'Disposition Security' to remind investors of trading risks and settlement security.