GreTai Securities Market Chairman Wu Shoushan Gives a Charity Lecture at the "Hong Junpei Culture and Education Foundation"

(Taiwan Business News) In response to the government's policy of fostering the development of micro and small innovative enterprises, and to invigorate the momentum of the capital market so that the GreTai multi-tiered market structure can take root at the grassroots level, the GreTai Securities Market officially launched the "Go Incubation Board for Startup and Acceleration Firms" at the beginning of this year, providing functions such as public fundraising and free counseling for micro and small enterprises with innovative and creative ideas. To date, more than 150 million yuan has been raised through the Go Incubation Board, initially demonstrating its counseling and fundraising results.

On August 17, the Hong Junpei Culture and Education Foundation invited Mr. Wu Shoushan, Chairman of the Republic of China GreTai Securities Market, to give a lecture on "Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship, Breakthroughs in Innovation." Drawing on his many years of experience in securities management and teaching research, Chairman Wu shared his experience, and the audience benefited greatly.

The Go Incubation Board was established by the GreTai Securities Market in response to the government's policy of fostering the development of micro and small innovative enterprises. Its main function is to provide a channel for micro innovative enterprises to raise funds.

According to the "Plan for Promoting the Establishment of the Go Incubation Board to Assist Innovative Enterprises in Fundraising" provided by the Financial Supervisory Commission, companies wishing to register on the Go Incubation Board are expected to meet traits such as "possessing creativity, development potential, and sustainable operation planning," and the upper limit on capital is NT$50 million. Although no minimum lower limit is specified, the company must be a "company limited by shares." In addition, before registering on the Go Incubation Board, the company must accept joint counseling from government agencies. There are no restrictions on profitability or years since establishment. The GreTai Securities Market stipulates that the period of registration on the Go Incubation Board should not exceed 3 years; that is, if within three years the company fails to successfully attract public investors to subscribe, its listing status may be revoked. For companies that complete their fundraising, the GreTai Securities Market will assist them in transferring to the main board or the Go Incubation Board-listed market.

For the Go Incubation Board section, which only began implementation on January 3 of this year, investors who wish to inquire about or subscribe to stocks in the Go Incubation Board section may visit the "Go Incubation Board Section" website and click on "Fundraising Information in Progress" under "Fundraising Information." To avoid exposing investors to excessive risk, ordinary investors may only subscribe after signing a "Risk Disclosure Statement" on the GreTai Securities Market's "Go Incubation Board Company Fundraising System," and the amount invested through the Go Incubation Board within one year may not exceed NT$60,000.

The first batch of companies registered on the Go Incubation Board totaled nineteen, covering industries such as cultural creativity, agriculture, forestry, fishery and animal husbandry, biotechnology and medical care, and electronic technology.

The intentions behind the Go Incubation Board are good, but Wu Shoushan also reminded that Taiwanese investors tend to have a more "speculative" mentality when buying and selling stocks. However, compared with capital market structures such as the Emerging Stock Board and the main board (market), the main spirit of the Go Incubation Board is to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and to support smaller companies that need market capital, and it features exemption from public offering and low application thresholds. Investors directly negotiate subscription matters with the company, and after investment the shares cannot be publicly traded and can only be handled through specific stock service agents contacted by the GreTai Securities Market. Therefore, non-professional investors should not invest merely with the mentality of "making money through investment" and obtaining capital gains.

Beyond commercial interests, investors in the Go Incubation Board also hold enthusiastic support for startup companies. If the company invested in is successfully listed on the main board or the Go Incubation Board-listed market, then it is fortunate and capital gains are smoothly earned. But if after three years of investment the company has not entered the Emerging Stock Board or been listed on the main board or the Go Incubation Board-listed market and withdraws from the Go Incubation Board, then the investor's money should be regarded as tuition paid.

Before registering on the Go Incubation Board, a company must accept joint counseling. Combining resources from various government departments, the GreTai Securities Market coordinates counseling on finance, accounting, internal controls, marketing, legal systems, and corporate governance. The counseling period is at most two years, though if the company is sound and has few problems, the counseling period will not be too long. Ultimately, the GreTai Securities Market holds the final review authority over whether a company successfully registers on the "Go Incubation Board."

To assist young people or business owners in China who have creative ideas and want to start businesses in finding "backers" to smoothly obtain funds and realize their ideas, the "Go Incubation Board" was established separately, allowing creative or startup companies to also list and raise funds.

At present, similar "growth enterprise boards" around the world include London's "AIM," Hong Kong, China's "Growth Enterprise Market," and Singapore's "Catalist," though these are more similar to Taiwan's Emerging Stock Market. The "Go Incubation Board" planned by the GreTai Securities Market this time is an extension and grassroots deepening beneath the Emerging Stock Market, and should be a global first.

The first in the world to launch this type of "emerging enterprise board" was the London Stock Exchange's "Alternative Investment Market" (AIM). AIM was established in 1995 and is similar to a growth enterprise board, suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises to list. Because of low listing thresholds and costs, it attracts small and medium-sized enterprises from around the world to list, with several hundred new listings each year, and even Chinese enterprises flock to it.

According to research by the GreTai Securities Market, the "Go Incubation Board" refers to the U.S. "crowdfunding act," which includes equity and non-equity forms. In actual U.S. practice, enterprises publish their ideas online and raise funds from the public, allowing ordinary investors to support the enterprise's ideas through donations.

Profile of Wu Shoushan, Chairman of the GreTai Securities Market:

Mr. Wu Shoushan, Chairman of the GreTai Securities Market, holds a bachelor's degree from the Department of Accounting and Statistics at National Chung Hsing University, a master's degree from the Graduate Institute of Management Science at National Chiao Tung University, and a doctorate from the Department of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate at the University of Florida in the United States. He has served as a professor and dean of the College of Management at Chang Gung University, a professor at National Chiao Tung University, a resident supervisor of Hua Nan Bank, and chairman of the Securities and Futures Institute. He currently serves as chairman of the Republic of China GreTai Securities Market and an advisor to the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research.