All listed firms in Taiwan are required to file a sustainability report this year and complete the disclosure by the end of August to showcase their dedication to environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles, according to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC).
Listed companies with a paid-in capital of less than NT$2 billion (US$610.8 million) are required to prepare a sustainability report for last year starting from this year, the commission said. Firms with larger capital already did so last year, it added.
As of August last year, 1,020 firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) or the Taipei Exchange had filed the report for the previous year, constituting 56 percent of the total, data published on the commission’s Web site showed.
Photo: Carlos Garcia, Reuters
That includes 578 mandatory and 442 voluntary submissions, the commission said. Among them, 613 companies obtained third-party assurance in filing their report, it added.
To assist companies in preparing the report, the TWSE has included a sustainability report generation function on its ESG digital platform, which went online on May 6 last year.
After several listed companies were invited to conduct trial generation, the exchange would formally launch the function this month after system adjustments based on the companies’ feedback.
However, the commission reminded listed companies to improve the quality of their sustainability information and avoid greenwashing and untrue statements, which would reduce public trust and affect market competitiveness, it said.
A sustainability report contains qualitative and quantitative information on listed firms’ ESG metrics and insights into their sustainability strategy, goals and initiatives, Taipei-based public relations firm IR Trust Corp (笠信) said.
Firms that fail to file the sustainability report would have difficulty securing bank financing or becoming components of index funds in the future, as banks and fund houses support ESG practices, IR Trust vice president Sandy Cheng (鄭友慈) said last month.
Costs for preparing sustainability report have become more reasonable —from NT$4 million two to three years ago to NT$600,000 these days, Cheng said.
Still, non-tech firms are less ready for the sustainable development trends and in great need of ESG consultancy, she said.
COMPETITION: AMD, Intel and Qualcomm are unveiling new laptop and desktop parts in Las Vegas, arguing their technologies provide the best performance for AI workloads Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), the second-biggest maker of computer processors, said its chips are to be used by Dell Technologies Inc for the first time in PCs sold to businesses. The chipmaker unveiled new processors it says would make AMD-based PCs the best at running artificial intelligence (AI) software. Dell has decided to use the chips in some of its computers aimed at business customers, AMD executives said at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. Dell’s embrace of AMD for corporate PCs — it already uses the chipmaker for consumer devices — is another blow for Intel Corp as the company
STIMULUS PLANS: An official said that China would increase funding from special treasury bonds and expand another program focused on key strategic sectors China is to sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds this year to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives, a state planner official told a news conference yesterday, as Beijing cranks up fiscal stimulus to revitalize its faltering economy. Special treasury bonds would be used to fund large-scale equipment upgrades and consumer goods trade-ins, said Yuan Da (袁達), deputy secretary-general of the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. “The size of ultra-long special government bond funds will be sharply increased this year to intensify and expand the implementation of the two new initiatives,” Yuan said. Under the program launched last year, consumers can
Citigroup Inc and Bank of America Corp said they are leaving a global climate-banking group, becoming the latest Wall Street lenders to exit the coalition in the past month. In a statement, Citigroup said while it remains committed to achieving net zero emissions, it is exiting the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Bank of America said separately on Tuesday that it is also leaving NZBA, adding that it would continue to work with clients on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The banks’ departure from NZBA follows Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co. The largest US financial institutions are under increasing pressure
FUTURE TECH: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang would give the keynote speech at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, which is also expected to highlight autonomous vehicles Gadgets, robots and vehicles imbued with artificial intelligence (AI) would once again vie for attention at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week, as vendors behind the scenes would seek ways to deal with tariffs threatened by US president-elect Donald Trump. The annual Consumer Electronics Show opens formally in Las Vegas tomorrow, but preceding days are packed with product announcements. AI would be a major theme of the show, along with autonomous vehicles ranging from tractors and boats to lawn mowers and golf club trollies. “Everybody is going to be talking about AI,” Creative Strategies Inc analyst Carolina Milanesi said. “From fridges to ovens
RSS