The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) stated that, in support of the policy goal of transforming Taiwan into an asset management center in Asia, it has formulated a Taiwan-tailored strategy built around five key elements: customers (people), fund flows (money), asset management providers (institutions), investment products (commodities), and incentives, under two core objectives, “retaining domestic wealth while attracting capital” and “investing in Taiwan to support industrial development.” Among these, the development of wealth management business for high-asset customers (high-asset customer business) is a key component of asset management. Accordingly, the FSC is preparing amendments to the Regulations Governing Securities Firms Accepting Orders to Trade Foreign Securities and the Directions for the Conduct of Wealth Management Business by Securities Firms, among other provisions, and will shortly initiate the public notice procedure in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, with the aim of enhancing financial institutions’ service capabilities through regulatory easing.
This round of amendments draws on the amendments announced on March 3, 2025 to the Regulations Governing Banks Conducting Financial Products and Services for High-Asset Customers. Key proposed amendments include:
I.    Easing the eligibility requirements for securities firms applying to conduct wealth management business for high-asset customers. The proposal would remove the net worth restriction under the financial eligibility criteria and the requirement to make specific commitments regarding capital attraction and talent recruitment. It would also add requirements stating that the firm has no accumulated deficit and that its financial condition complies with the relevant supervisory ratio requirements under the Regulations Governing Securities Firms, such as the ratio of liabilities to net worth.
II.    Broadening the eligible purchasers of offshore structured products issued by securities firms’ offshore subsidiaries. In addition to high-asset customers, professional institutional investors, and high-net-worth corporate investors, eligibility would be expanded to include juristic persons or funds of professional investors and natural persons of professional investors. In addition, securities firms would be permitted to conduct wealth management business in the form of a trust and may offer foreign currency denominated structured financial bonds issued by domestic banks to professional investors.
The FSC stated that, although the net worth restriction under the financial eligibility requirements for securities firms has been removed in this amendment, in order to implement tiered management of business lines, the FSC will continue to take financial soundness, including the firm’s net worth, into consideration when reviewing securities firms’ applications to conduct high-asset customer business. The FSC will also, in light of business development, gradually relax other additional business items that may be permitted.
This regulatory easing is expected to encourage securities firms to take a more active role in high-asset customer business and to offer high-asset customers a more diversified range of products, thereby helping to enhance securities firms’ business development and sales capabilities. It will also expand the service base for securities firms conducting high-asset customer business to include potential clients such as professional investors, broadening financial product transactions and related services, and contributing to the development of Taiwan as an Asia asset management center.
In addition to being published in the official gazette of the Executive Yuan, the draft amendments will also be posted on the FSC website together with the general description and the comparison table of the amendments. If you have any comments, please submit them within 14 days starting from the day after the notice is published in the Gazette, via the webpage “Notice of Draft Regulations” on the FSC Laws and Regulations Retrieving System (http://law.fsc.gov.tw/), or contact the Securities and Futures Bureau of the FSC.
 
Contact unit:    Securities Firms Division, Securities and Futures Bureau
Telephone: (02)2774 7401
If you have any questions, please write to the Commission’s public opinion box at