TDCC, ISS Announce Vote Delivery Partnership

TAIPEI & ROCKVILLE, Md. (June 3, 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.”