Attention Taiwan Stock Investors! TWSE Amends Suspended Trading Rules – New System Takes Effect August 10

On the 3rd, the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) announced that, in order to uphold the principles of fairness, safety, and transparency in the capital market and improve trading efficiency, it has revised the rules regarding the suspension period, auction execution timing, and criteria for publishing alert trading information for securities under special monitoring. These amendments, developed after comprehensive review of recent market changes, past implementation effectiveness, and stakeholder feedback since the first half of the year, will take effect on August 10.

The TWSE introduced its alert and suspension mechanism in 1995 to remind investors of trading risks when securities experience abnormal price fluctuations. This neutral measure is designed to maintain market order and has undergone multiple revisions in response to evolving market conditions.

Key revisions include:

1. Adjusted Suspension Period: - For securities suspended for the first time or two or more times, the suspension period is reduced from 10 to 5 business days. - If a security was subject to alert information due to high day-trading volume during the base calculation period, the suspension period is 7 business days (down from 12).

2. Adjusted Auction Execution Timing for Regular Trading Securities: - For securities under suspension, auction execution frequency is increased from approximately every 5 or 20 minutes to about every 2 minutes, aligning with the current price stabilization mechanism.

3. Revised Price Spread Criteria (Clause 11) for 6 Business Days: - Applies only if the closing price exceeds NT$1,000 and the price spread over the last 6 business days is at least NT$300. - For stocks over NT$2,000, the threshold increases by NT$150 per NT$1,000 tier (previously NT$25 per NT$500 tier). - Example: Stocks between NT$1,000–2,000 require a NT$300 spread; NT$2,000–3,000 require NT$450, and so on.

4. Establishment of a Semi-Annual Review Mechanism: - The alert and suspension rules will now be reviewed every six months to adapt to domestic and international developments.

5. Transitional Provisions: - Securities already under suspension as of the effective date will immediately follow the new rules: - Those meeting the new suspension period (5 or 7 days) will be released immediately. - Those not yet meeting the new period will continue until completion. - All suspended securities (except those under modified trading methods) will adopt the new ~2-minute auction interval.

The TWSE urges investors to review the revised regulations and updated suspension details, available on the homepage's 'Special Alert and Suspension Rules Zone', before trading.