Corporate governance has been a widely discussed topic in the U.S. since the 1930s. Following the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the financial frauds of US companies including Enron and Worldcom in 2001, a consensus among authorities and investors around the world has gradually formed. That is, corporate governance systems are fundamental infrastructures for the sound development of financial markets. Based on this belief, many countries have been devoted to promoting and implementing corporate governance.
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has also been actively supporting corporate governance to ensure that it is effectively carried out to raise corporate competitiveness. Toward this end, the FSC holds the annual Taipei Corporate Governance Forum, inviting financial experts and business managers from both home and abroad to join. Participants share latest information on corporate governance and exchange opinions on relevant policy and practice. The Forum enters its fifth year in 2008.
Major trends in international financial markets are the key agenda of this Forum. The first Forum focused on Board functions, shareholder rights and investor protection. The subject for the second year was how corporate governance may raise the competitiveness of conglomerates. Information transparency, compliance to international accounting standards and other corporate governance issues related to family enterprises in Asia were discussed. The third Forum was centered on international institutional investors. Topics included the experiences of securities exchange authorities in various countries, incentive measures and future prospects of corporate governance, as well as functions, practices, remuneration and risk reduction of the Board.
The FSC invites outstanding experts to help understand the latest OECD Principles of Corporate Governance and latest issues in international financial markets. In the first two years, representatives from the OECD Steering Group on Corporate Governance, and experts from South Korea, Hong Kong and other Asian countries delivered speeches. In the third year, in addition to the OECD, representatives from securities exchange authorities of the U.S., Germany and Australia shared their experiences. The number of participants also grew, from 570 to over 750 persons in the past four years. The expansion is parallel to the progress of Taiwan's authorities and listed companies in corporate governance works.
This year, promoting the Taipei Corporate Governance Forum into a well-known annual event in international financial markets is part of a major national policy, Financial Market VIP (value-added, innovation and prosperity). The Forum will further expand to include panel discussants from securities exchange authorities of more than ten advanced and emerging market economies. A fruitful result from intense discussion in the Forum can be expected.
Despite the continuous discussion and promotion of corporate governance in all these years, fraud cases that hurt company values and hamper shareholder rights still arise once in a while. This means that international financial markets should usher in a new phase in corporate governance. In addition, the innovation and popularity of information technology closely link securities markets worldwide with each other. Crises in one region quickly spread to other regions. This phenomenon brings new implications for authorities and market participants in securities markets of each country. In this context, this year's Forum will focus on Board functions and non arms-length transactions, supervisory responsibilities for corporate governance, and from corporate governance to corporate social responsibility. Moreover, the issue of mergers and acquisitions among major securities exchanges around the world will be addressed in panel discussions. Capital market internationalization and integration is the subject for the first panel discussion, where representatives from various securities authorities will share their views. The second panel discussion concerns private equity funds and market supervision. Private equity funds are increasingly important in global capital markets. How should the authorities respond? What are related regulations? How should we strengthen supervision and cross-market cooperation? These are critical questions for relevant agencies.

The 5th Taipei Corporate Governance Forum will be held at Howard International House, Taipei on November 5, 2008. The scale and scope of this year's Forum will surpass former years, a clear indication of the determination of Taiwan's authorities and listed companies to carry out corporate governance.