TAIPEI & ROCKVILLE, Md. (Jun 03, 2019)
-- Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation (TDCC) and Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS),
the leading provider of end-to-end proxy voting solutions to the global
financial community, today announced a partnership to help ensure the seamless
delivery of ISS client voting instructions directly to the TDCC.
Under terms of the partnership, TDCC’s STOCKVOTE e-voting system will connect directly to
ISS’ Global Proxy Distribution business to receive voting instructions from ISS’
global custodian clients. Previously, local custodians in Taiwan acted as
intermediaries to register votes lodged by ISS’ global custodian clients and
others. The partnership establishes a new connection to receive ISS client vote
instructions for Taiwan company portfolio holdings via Straight Through Processing
(STP) to better meet voting deadlines and create a more seamless voting
process.
Sherman
Lin, Chairman of TDCC, said, “We are delighted to partner with ISS to expand
institutional investor services. In 2018, all listed companies in Taiwan have
adopted TDCC’s STOCKVOTE for their shareholder meetings. The partnership
with ISS enables us to expand STP service coverage for more institutional
investors, increasing cross-border voting efficiency and convenience. We
also believe working with ISS will bring benefits to foreign investors and is a
critical step in improving corporate governance in Taiwan.”
As a result of the new partnership, local
custodians in Taiwan, in conjunction with their global parents, can now turn to
ISS to deliver votes directly to the TDCC.
“ISS is pleased to partner with the TDCC in
furtherance of our objective to streamline the voting process and to ensure
timely delivery of voting instructions for our clients,” said Lorraine Kelly,
Head of ISS’ Global Proxy Distribution business. “All global custodian clients
of ISS with exposure to the Taiwanese market can benefit from this new
arrangement.”