DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
by and
among
UNITED
MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
AND
JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, N.A.,
as
Depositary,
AND
THE
HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS
OF
AMERICAN DEPOSITARY SHARES EVIDENCED BY
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY RECEIPTS ISSUED HEREUNDER
Dated as
of October 21,
2009
Page
ARTICLE
1.
DEFINITIONS
Section
1.1.
|
"ADS
Record Date"
|
2
|
|
Section
1.2.
|
"Affiliate"
|
2
|
|
Section
1.3.
|
"American
Depositary Share(s)" and "ADS(s)"
|
2
|
|
Section
1.4.
|
"Applicant"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.5.
|
"Beneficial
Owner"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.6.
|
"Business
Xxx"
|
0
|
|
Section
1.7.
|
"Certificate(s)
of Payment"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.8.
|
"Certificated
ADS(s)"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.9.
|
"Commission"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.10.
|
"Company"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.11.
|
"Custodian"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.12.
|
"Deliver"
and "Delivery"
|
3
|
|
Section
1.13.
|
4
|
||
Section
1.14.
|
"Depositary"
|
4
|
|
Section
1.15.
|
"Deposited
Securities"
|
4
|
|
Section
1.16.
|
"Dollars"
and "$"
|
4
|
|
Section
1.17.
|
"DTC"
|
4
|
|
Section
1.18.
|
"DTC
Participant"
|
4
|
|
Section
1.19.
|
"Eligible
Securities
|
5
|
|
Section
1.20.
|
"Eligible
Securities Registrar"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.21.
|
"Exchange
Act"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.22.
|
"Foreign
Currency"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.23.
|
"Full
Entitlement ADS(s)"; "Full Entitlement ADR(s)" and "Full Entitlement
Deposited Securities"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.24.
|
"Holder"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.25.
|
"Initial
Deposit"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.26.
|
"NT
dollars" and "NT$"
|
5
|
|
Section
1.27.
|
"Offering"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.28.
|
"Pre
Release Transaction"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.29.
|
"Principal
Office"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.30.
|
"Prospectus"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.31.
|
"Receipt(s)";
"American Depositary Receipt(s)" and "ADR(s)"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.32.
|
"Registrar"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.33.
|
"Republic
of China"; "ROC" and "Taiwan"
|
6
|
|
Section
1.34.
|
"Restricted
Securities"
|
7
|
|
Section
1.35.
|
"Securities
Act"
|
7
|
|
Section
1.36.
|
"SFB"
|
7
|
|
Section
1.37.
|
"Shares"
|
7
|
|
Section
1.38.
|
"Share
American Depositary Receipt(s)" and "Share ADR(s)"
|
7
|
|
Section
1.39.
|
"Share
American Depositary Share(s)" and "Share ADS(s)"
|
8
|
|
Section
1.40.
|
"Taiwan
Securities Central Depository Co. Ltd."
|
8
|
i
Section
1.41.
|
Taiwan
Stock Exchange" and "TSE"
|
8
|
|
Section
1.42.
|
"Temporary
ADR(s)"
|
8
|
|
Section
1.43.
|
"Temporary
ADS(s)"
|
8
|
|
Section
1.44.
|
"United
States"
|
9
|
|
Section
1.45.
|
"Voting
Representative"
|
9
|
|
|
|||
ARTICLE
2. APPOINTMENT
OF DEPOSITARY; FORM OF RECEIPTS; DEPOSIT OF ELIGIBLE SECURITIES; EXECUTION
AND DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS |
|||
Section
2.1.
|
Appointment
of Depositary.
|
9
|
|
Section
2.2.
|
Form
and Transferability of Receipts.
|
10
|
|
Section
2.3.
|
Deposit
with Custodian.
|
12
|
|
Section
2.4.
|
Registration
and Safekeeping of Deposited Securities.
|
15
|
|
Section
2.5.
|
Execution
and Delivery of Receipts.
|
15
|
|
Section
2.6.
|
Transfer,
Combination and Split up of Receipts.
|
16
|
|
Section
2.7.
|
Surrender
of ADSs and Withdrawal and Sale of Deposited Securities.
|
17
|
|
Section
2.8.
|
Limitations
on Execution and Delivery, Transfer, etc. of Receipts; Suspension of
Delivery, Transfer, etc.
|
21
|
|
Section
2.9.
|
Lost
Receipts, etc.
|
22
|
|
Section
2.10.
|
Cancellation
and Destruction of Surrendered Receipts; Maintenance of
Records.
|
23
|
|
Section
2.11.
|
Temporary
ADSs.
|
23
|
|
Section
2.12.
|
Certificated/Uncertificated
ADS(s).
|
26
|
|
|
|||
ARTICLE
3. CERTAIN
OBLIGATIONS OF HOLDERS AND BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF RECEIPTS |
|||
Section
3.1.
|
Proofs,
Certificates and Other Information.
|
28
|
|
Section
3.2.
|
Liability
for Taxes and Other Charges.
|
29
|
|
Section
3.3.
|
Representations
and Warranties on Deposit of Eligible Securities.
|
31
|
|
Section
3.4.
|
Compliance
with Information Requests.
|
32
|
|
Section
3.5.
|
Ownership
Restrictions.
|
32
|
|
|
|||
ARTICLE
4.
THE
DEPOSITED SECURITIES
|
|||
Section
4.1.
|
Cash
Distributions.
|
33
|
|
Section
4.2.
|
Distribution
in Eligible Securities.
|
33
|
|
Section
4.3.
|
Distribution
of Rights to Purchase Additional ADSs.
|
35
|
|
Section
4.4.
|
Distributions
Other Than Cash, Eligible Securities or Rights to Purchase Eligible
Securities.
|
37
|
|
Section
4.5.
|
Distributions
with Respect to Deposited Securities in Bearer Form.
|
38
|
|
Section
4.6.
|
Redemption.
|
38
|
|
Section
4.7.
|
Conversion
of Foreign Currency.
|
39
|
|
Section
4.8.
|
Fixing
of ADS Record Date.
|
40
|
ii
Section
4.9.
|
Voting
of Deposited Securities.
|
41
|
|
Section
4.10.
|
Changes
Affecting Deposited Securities.
|
44
|
|
Section
4.11.
|
Available
Information.
|
45
|
|
Section
4.12.
|
Reports.
|
45
|
|
Section
4.13.
|
List
of Holders.
|
45
|
|
Section
4.14.
|
Taxation.
|
45
|
|
Section
4.15.
|
Right
to Submit Proposals at Annual Ordinary Meeting of
Shareholders.
|
47
|
|
|
|||
ARTICLE
5.
THE
DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIAN AND THE COMPANY
|
|||
Section
5.1.
|
Maintenance
of Office and Transfer Books by the Registrar.
|
51
|
|
Section
5.2.
|
Exoneration.
|
52
|
|
Section
5.3.
|
Standard
of Care.
|
53
|
|
Section
5.4.
|
Resignation
and Removal of the Depositary; Appointment of Successor
Depositary.
|
55
|
|
Section
5.5.
|
The
Custodian.
|
56
|
|
Section
5.6.
|
Notices
and Reports.
|
57
|
|
Section
5.7.
|
Issuance
of Additional Eligible Securities, ADSs, etc.
|
58
|
|
Section
5.8.
|
Indemnification.
|
59
|
|
Section
5.9.
|
Fees
and Charges of Depositary.
|
60
|
|
Section
5.10.
|
Pre
Release.
|
61
|
|
Section
5.11.
|
Restricted
Securities Owners.
|
62
|
|
|
|||
ARTICLE
6.
AMENDMENT
AND TERMINATION
|
|||
Section
6.1.
|
Amendment/Supplement.
|
62
|
|
Section
6.2.
|
Termination.
|
64
|
|
|
|||
ARTICLE
7.
MISCELLANEOUS
|
|||
Section
7.1.
|
Counterparts.
|
65
|
|
Section
7.2.
|
No
Third Party Beneficiaries.
|
65
|
|
Section
7.3.
|
Severability.
|
66
|
|
Section
7.4.
|
Holders
and Beneficial Owners as Parties; Binding Effect.
|
66
|
|
Section
7.5.
|
Notices.
|
66
|
|
Section
7.6.
|
Governing
Law and Jurisdiction.
|
67
|
|
Section
7.7.
|
Assignment.
|
70
|
|
Section
7.8.
|
Compliance
with U.S. Securities Laws.
|
70
|
|
Section
7.9.
|
Titles.
|
70
|
|
Section
7.10.
|
Amendment
and Restatement.
|
70
|
|
EXHIBIT A – FORM OF RECEIPT |
A-1
|
||
EXHIBIT B – FORM OF CERTIFICATION UPON WITHDRAWAL |
B-1
|
iii
AMENDED
AND RESTATED DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
AMENDED AND RESTATED DEPOSIT
AGREEMENT, dated as of October 21, 2009, by and among (i) United
Microelectronics Corporation, a company incorporated under the laws of the
Republic of China, and its successors (the "Company"), (ii) JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,
N.A., a national banking association organized under the laws of the United
States of America acting in its capacity as depositary, and any successor
depositary hereunder (the "Depositary"), and (iii) all Holders and Beneficial
Owners of American Depositary Shares evidenced by American Depositary Receipts
issued hereunder (all such capitalized terms as hereinafter
defined).
W
I T N E S S E T H T H A T:
WHEREAS,
the Company and Citibank, N.A. entered into a Deposit Agreement, dated as of
September 21, 2000, as supplemented by a letter agreement, dated as of December
12, 2001, by and between the Company and the Depositary, and as further
supplemented by a letter agreement, dated as of August 19, 2003, by and among
the Company, Teco Electric & Machinery Co., Ltd and the Depositary, and as
further supplemented by a letter agreement, dated as of October 5, 2005, by and
between the Company and the Depositary, and as amended by Amendment No. 1 to
Deposit Agreement, dated as of March 6, 2006 and Amendment No. 2 to Deposit
Agreement dated as of 2007 (collectively, the "Old Deposit
Agreement") to provide for the deposit of Shares of the Company with Citibank,
N.A. or with the Custodian as agent of Citibank, N.A. for the purposes set forth
in such Old Deposit Agreement, for the creation of American depositary shares
representing the Shares so deposited and for the execution and delivery of
American depositary receipts ("Old Receipts") evidencing the American depositary
shares;
WHEREAS,
pursuant to the terms of Section 5.4 of the Old Deposit Agreement, the Company
has removed Citibank, N.A. as depositary and has appointed JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A., as successor depositary thereunder; and
1
WHEREAS,
the Company and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., in its capacity as successor
depositary under the Old Deposit Agreement, now wish to amend and restate the
Old Deposit Agreement and the Old Receipts;
NOW
THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises, subject to Section 7.10 hereof, the
parties hereto hereby amend and restate the Old Deposit Agreement and the Old
Receipts in their entirety as follows:
ARTICLE
1.
DEFINITIONS
All
capitalized terms used, but not otherwise defined, herein shall have the
meanings set forth below, unless otherwise clearly indicated:
Section
1.1. "ADS Record
Date" shall have the meaning given to such term in
Section 4.9.
Section
1.2. "Affiliate" shall
have the meaning assigned to such term by the Commission (as hereinafter
defined) under Regulation C promulgated under the Securities Act (as hereinafter
defined), or under any successor regulation thereto.
Section
1.3. "American Depositary
Share(s)" and "ADS(s)" shall mean
the rights and interests in the Deposited Securities (as hereinafter defined)
granted to the Holders and Beneficial Owners pursuant to the terms and
conditions of this Deposit Agreement and, if issued as Certificated ADS(s) (as
hereinafter defined), the American Depositary Receipts issued hereunder to
evidence such Certificated ADSs. ADS(s) may be issued under the terms of this
Deposit Agreement in the form of (a) Certificated ADS(s), in which case the
ADS(s) are evidenced by ADR(s), or (b) Uncertificated ADS(s) (as hereinafter
defined), in which case the ADS(s) are not evidenced by ADR(s) but are reflected
on the direct registration system maintained by the Depositary for such purposes
under the terms of Section 2.12. Unless otherwise specified in this Deposit
Agreement or in any ADR, or unless the context otherwise requires, any reference
to ADS(s) shall include Certificated ADS(s) and Uncertificated ADS(s),
individually or collectively, as the context may require. Each
American Depositary Share shall represent (i) in the case of Share ADSs (as
hereinafter defined), five (5) Share(s) and (ii) in the case of Temporary ADSs,
interests in the Certificate of Payment, each interest representing the
irrevocable right to receive five (5) Shares from the Company, in each case
until there shall occur a distribution upon Deposited Securities referred to in
Section 4.2 or a change in Deposited Securities referred to in Section 4.11 with
respect to which additional American Depositary Shares are not issued, and
thereafter each American Depositary Share shall represent the Deposited
Securities determined in accordance with the terms of such
Sections. Unless otherwise specifically set forth in this Deposit
Agreement or the applicable ADR, the terms "American Depositary Shares" and
"ADSs" shall include Temporary ADSs.
2
Section
1.4. "Applicant" shall
have the meaning given to such term in Section 5.10.
Section
1.5. "Beneficial
Owner" shall mean as to any ADS, any person or entity having a
beneficial interest deriving from the ownership of such ADS. A
Beneficial Owner may or may not be the Holder of the ADR(s) evidencing such
ADSs. A Beneficial Owner shall be able to exercise any right or
receive any benefit hereunder solely through the person who is the Holder of the
ADR(s) evidencing the ADS(s) owned by such Beneficial Owner.
Section
1.6. "Business
Day" shall mean any day on which both the banks in Taipei, Taiwan,
ROC and the banks in The City of New York are open for business.
Section
1.7. "Certificate(s) of
Payment" shall mean the single global Certificate of Payment issued
by the Company evidencing the irrevocable right to receive definitive share
certificates representing the Shares delivered by the Company in connection with
the Offering or any Certificate of Payment issued by the Company in connection
with any subsequent offerings or distributions of Shares by the
Company.
Section
1.8. "Certificated ADS(s)"
shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.12.
Section
1.9. "Commission" shall
mean the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States or any
successor governmental agency in the United States.
Section
1.10. "Company" shall
mean United Microelectronics Corporation, a company incorporated and existing
under the laws of the ROC, and its successors, having its principal executive
offices at Xx.0 Xx Xxxx Xxxx XX, Xxxxxxx-Xxxxx Xxxxxxxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxxx, Xxxxxx,
XXX.
Section
1.11. "Custodian" shall
mean, as of the date hereof, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Taipei Branch, 8th
Floor, Xx. 000, Xxx Xx Xxxx, Xxx. 0, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx 00000 ROC, as the custodian
for the purposes of this Deposit Agreement, and any other entity that may be
appointed by the Depositary pursuant to the terms of Section 5.5 as successor,
substitute or additional custodian hereunder, as the context shall
require. The term "Custodian" shall mean any custodian individually
or all custodians collectively, as the context requires.
3
Section
1.12. "Deliver" and "Delivery" shall
mean, when used in respect of ADSs, Deposited Securities or the Eligible
Securities (as such terms are hereinafter defined) and to the extent permissible
under the laws of the ROC, either (i) the physical delivery of the
certificate(s) representing such securities (including, without limitation,
Receipts, as such term is hereinafter defined), or (ii) the electronic delivery
of such securities by means of book-entry transfer, if available.
Section
1.13. "Deposit
Agreement" shall mean this Deposit Agreement and all exhibits
hereto, as the same may from time to time be amended and supplemented in
accordance with the terms hereof.
Section
1.14. "Depositary" shall
mean JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., a national banking association organized under
the laws of the United States, in its capacity as depositary under the terms of
this Deposit Agreement, and any successor depositary hereunder.
Section
1.15.
"Deposited
Securities" shall mean, collectively or individually, as the context
may require and unless otherwise specifically set forth herein, (a) with respect
to Share ADSs, Shares and (b) with respect to Temporary ADSs, interests in the
single global Certificate of Payment, in each case at any time deposited under
this Deposit Agreement and any and all other securities, property and cash held
by the Depositary or the Custodian in respect thereof, subject, in the case of
cash, to the provisions of Section 4.7. The collateral delivered in
connection with Pre-Release Transactions described in Section 5.10 hereof shall
not constitute Deposited Securities.
Section
1.16. "Dollars" and "$" shall refer to the
lawful currency of the United States.
Section
1.17. "DTC" shall mean
The Depository Trust Company, a national clearinghouse and the central
book-entry settlement system for securities traded in the United States and, as
such, the custodian for the securities of DTC Participants (as hereinafter
defined) maintained in DTC, and any successor thereto.
4
Section
1.18. "DTC
Participant" shall mean any financial institution (or any nominee of
such institution) having one or more participant accounts with DTC for
receiving, holding and delivering the securities and cash held in
DTC.
Section
1.19. "Eligible Securities"
shall mean, collectively or individually as the context may require and unless
otherwise specifically set forth herein, (a) with respect to Share ADSs, Shares,
and (b) with respect to Temporary ADSs, interests in the Certificate of Payment,
in each case to the extent eligible for deposit hereunder from time to
time.
Section
1.20. "Eligible Securities
Registrar" shall mean National Securities Corp. or any other institution
organized under the laws of the ROC appointed by the Company to carry out the
duties of registrar for (a) the Shares and/or (b) any Certificates of Payment,
and any successor thereto.
Section
1.21. "Exchange
Act" shall mean the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as from time to time amended.
Section
1.22. "Foreign
Currency" shall mean any currency other than Dollars.
Section
1.23. "Full Entitlement
ADS(s)"; "Full
Entitlement ADR(s)" and "Full Entitlement Deposited
Securities" shall have the meaning given to such terms in Section 2.11
hereof.
Section
1.24. "Holder" shall mean
the person in whose name a Receipt is registered on the books of the Depositary
(or the Registrar, if any) maintained for such purpose. A Holder may
or may not be a Beneficial Owner. If a Holder is not the Beneficial
Owner of the ADSs evidenced by the Receipt registered in its name, such person
shall be deemed to have all requisite authority to act on behalf of the
Beneficial Owners of the ADSs evidenced by such Receipt. Any reference to
Holders of ADR(s) or ADS(s) in this Deposit Agreement shall, in the context of
the Uncertificated ADSs, refer to the person(s) in whose name the Uncertificated
ADSs are registered on the books of the Depositary maintained for such
purpose.
Section
1.25. "Initial Deposit"
shall mean the initial deposit of Shares or the single global Certificate of
Payment, as the case may be, in connection with the Offering (as hereinafter
defined).
5
Section
1.26. "NT dollars" and
"NT$" shall
refer to New Taiwan Dollars, the lawful currency of the ROC.
Section
1.27. "Offering" shall mean
the offering of ADSs in the United States as contemplated by the Underwriting
Agreement, dated in or about the third quarter of calendar year ended December
31, 2000, by and among Xxxxxx Xxxxxxx & Co. Incorporated and Credit Suisse
First Boston Corporation, as representatives of the several underwriters (as set
forth therein) and the Company, and the Prospectus (as hereinafter
defined).
Section
1.28. "Pre-Release
Transaction" shall have the meaning set forth in
Section 5.10.
Section
1.29. "Principal Office",
when used with respect to the Depositary, shall mean the principal office of the
Depositary at which at any particular time its depositary receipts business
shall be administered, which, at the date of the Deposit Agreement, is located
at Four Xxx Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, X.X.X.
Section
1.30. "Prospectus" shall
mean the Company's Prospectus, filed under cover of the Company's Registration
Statement on Form F-1 (Reg. No. 333-12444), as filed with the Commission on
August 28, 2000.
Section
1.31. "Receipt(s)"; "American Depositary
Receipt(s)" and "ADR(s)" shall mean
any series of the certificate(s) issued by the Depositary to evidence the
American Depositary Shares issued under the terms of this Deposit Agreement in
the form of Certificated ADS(s), as such Receipts may be amended from time to
time in accordance with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement. A
Receipt may evidence any number of American Depositary Shares and may, in the
case of American Depositary Shares held through a central depository such as
DTC, be in the form of a "Balance Certificate." Unless otherwise
specifically set forth herein, the term "Receipts" shall include the Temporary
ADRs evidencing the Temporary ADSs issued hereunder.
Section
1.32. "Registrar" shall
mean the Depositary or any bank or trust company having an office in the Borough
of Manhattan, The City of New York, which shall be appointed by the Depositary
to register issuances, transfers and cancellations of Receipts as herein
provided, and shall include any co-registrar appointed by the Depositary for
such purposes. Registrars (other than the Depositary) may be removed
and substitutes appointed by the Depositary. Each Registrar (other
than the Depositary) appointed pursuant to this Deposit Agreement shall be
required to give notice in writing to the Depositary accepting such appointment
and agreeing to be bound by the applicable terms of this Deposit
Agreement.
6
Section
1.33. "Republic of China";
"ROC" and
"Taiwan" shall
mean the Republic of China.
Section
1.34. "Restricted
Securities" shall mean collectively or individually, as the context
may require, Eligible Securities, Deposited Securities or ADSs, which (i) have
been acquired directly or indirectly from the Company or any of its Affiliates
in a transaction or chain of transactions not involving any public offering and
are subject to resale limitations under the Securities Act (as hereinafter
defined) or the rules promulgated thereunder, or (ii) are held directly or
indirectly by an officer or director (or persons performing similar functions)
or other Affiliate of the Company, or (iii) are subject to other
restrictions on sale or deposit under (a) the laws of the United States, (b) the
laws of the ROC, (c) a shareholders agreement, (d) the Articles of Incorporation
of the Company or (e) the regulations of an applicable securities exchange
unless, in each case, (x) such Eligible Securities, Deposited Securities or ADSs
are being sold to persons other than an Affiliate of the Company in a
transaction (i) covered by an effective resale registration statement, or
(ii) exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, and (y)
the Eligible Securities, Deposited Securities or ADSs are not, when held by such
person(s), Restricted Securities.
Section
1.35. "Securities
Act" shall mean the United States Securities Act of 1933, as from
time to time amended.
Section
1.36. "SFB" shall mean the
Securities and Futures Bureau of the ROC.
Section
1.37. "Shares" shall
mean the Company's common shares, par value NT$10 per share, validly issued and
outstanding and fully paid and may, if the Depositary so agrees after
consultation with the Company, include evidence of the right to receive Shares
(other than interests in any Certificate of Payment); provided that in no event
shall Shares include evidence of the right to receive Shares with respect to
which the full purchase price has not been paid or Shares as to which preemptive
rights have theretofore not been validly waived or exercised; provided further,
however, that, if there shall occur any change in par value, split-up,
consolidation, reclassification, conversion or any other event described in
Section 4.10 in respect of the Shares of the Company, the term "Shares" shall
thereafter, to the maximum extent permitted by law, represent the successor
securities resulting from such change in par value, split-up, consolidation,
exchange, conversion, reclassification or event.
7
Section
1.38. "Share American Depositary
Receipt(s)" and "Share
ADR(s)" shall mean the Receipts issued by the Depositary to evidence
Share ADSs issued under the terms of this Deposit Agreement, as such Share ADRs
may be amended from time to time in accordance with the provisions
hereof. A Share ADR may evidence any number of Share ADSs and may, in
the case of Share ADSs held through a central depository such as DTC, be in the
form of a "Balance Certificate". Share ADRs shall, unless otherwise
specifically set forth herein or in the applicable ADR(s), be deemed to be
Receipts for all purposes under this Deposit Agreement.
Section
1.39. "Share American Depositary
Share(s)" and "Share
ADS(s)" shall mean the rights and interests in deposited Shares
granted to Holders and Beneficial Owners pursuant to the terms and conditions of
this Deposit Agreement and the Share ADRs issued hereunder to evidence such
Share ADSs. Share ADSs shall, unless otherwise specifically set forth herein, be
deemed to be American Depositary Shares or ADSs, as the context may require, for
all purposes under this Deposit Agreement.
Section
1.40. "Taiwan Securities Central
Depository Co. Ltd." shall mean the central depository for Shares in
the ROC, and any successor thereto.
Section
1.41. "Taiwan Stock
Exchange" and "TSE" shall mean the
stock exchange in the ROC, upon which the Company's Shares are listed for
trading and any successor stock exchange thereto.
Section
1.42. "Temporary
ADR(s)" shall mean the Receipts issued by the Depositary to evidence
Temporary ADSs issued under the terms of this Deposit Agreement (including,
without limitation, Section 2.11 hereof), as such Temporary ADRs may be amended
from time to time in accordance with the terms hereof. A Temporary
ADR may evidence any number of Temporary ADSs and may, in the case of Temporary
ADSs held through a central depository such as DTC, be in the form of a "Balance
Certificate". Temporary ADRs shall, unless otherwise specifically set
forth herein or in the applicable Temporary ADR(s), be deemed to be Receipts for
all purposes under this Deposit Agreement
8
Section
1.43. "Temporary
ADS(s)" shall mean the rights and interests in any deposited
Certificate of Payment granted to Holders and Beneficial Owners pursuant to the
terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation,
Section 2.11 hereof) and the applicable Temporary ADR(s) issued hereunder to
evidence such Temporary ADSs. Temporary ADSs shall, unless otherwise
specifically set forth herein or in the applicable Temporary ADR(s), be deemed
to be American Depositary Shares or ADSs, as the context may require, for all
purposes under this Deposit Agreement.
Section
1.44. "United
States" shall have the meaning assigned to it in Regulation S as
promulgated by the Commission under the Securities Act.
Section
1.45. "Uncertificated
ADS(s)" shall have the meaning set forth in Section 2.12.
Section
1.46. "Voting
Representative" shall have the meaning set forth in Section
4.9.
ARTICLE
2.
APPOINTMENT
OF DEPOSITARY; FORM OF RECEIPTS;
DEPOSIT
OF ELIGIBLE SECURITIES; EXECUTION
AND
DELIVERY, TRANSFER AND SURRENDER OF RECEIPTS
Section
2.1. Appointment of
Depositary. The Company hereby appoints the Depositary as
depositary for the Deposited Securities and hereby authorizes and directs the
Depositary to act in accordance with the terms set forth in this Deposit
Agreement. Each
Holder and each Beneficial Owner, upon acceptance of any ADSs (or any interest
therein) issued in accordance with the terms of this Deposit Agreement, shall be
deemed for all purposes to (a) be a party to and bound by the terms of this
Deposit Agreement and (b) appoint the Depositary its attorney-in-fact, with full
power to delegate, to act on its behalf and to take any and all actions
contemplated in this Deposit Agreement (including, without limitation, Section
2.11 hereof), to adopt any and all procedures necessary to comply with
applicable law and to take such action as the Depositary in its sole discretion
may deem necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this Deposit
Agreement (the taking of such actions to be the conclusive determinant of the
necessity and appropriateness thereof).
9
Section
2.2. Form and Transferability of
Receipts.
2.2.1 Form. Certificated
ADS(s), if any, shall be evidenced by definitive Receipts which shall be
engraved, printed, lithographed or produced in such other manner as may be
agreed upon by the Company and the Depositary. Receipts may be issued
under the Deposit Agreement in denominations of any whole number of
ADSs. The Receipts shall be substantially in the form set forth in
Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement, with any appropriate insertions,
modifications and omissions, in each case as otherwise contemplated in the
Deposit Agreement or required by law. Receipts shall be (i) dated,
(ii) signed by the manual or facsimile signature of a duly authorized
signatory of the Depositary, (iii) countersigned by the manual or facsimile
signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Registrar, and
(iv) registered in the books maintained by the Registrar for the
registration of issuances and transfers of Receipts. No Receipt (and
no Certificated ADS evidenced thereby) shall be entitled to any benefits under
the Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable for any purpose against the
Depositary or the Company unless such Receipt shall have been so dated, signed,
countersigned and registered. Receipts bearing the facsimile signature of a
duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, who at the time of
signature was a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, as
the case may be, shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding the fact that such
signatory has ceased to be so authorized prior to the delivery of such Receipt
by the Depositary. The Share ADRs and the Temporary ADRs shall each
bear a separate and distinct CUSIP number that is different from one another and
from any CUSIP number that was, is or may be assigned to any depositary receipts
previously or subsequently issued pursuant to any other arrangement between the
Depositary (or any other depositary) and the Company and which are not Receipts
issued hereunder.
2.2.2. Legends. The
Receipts may be endorsed with, or have incorporated in the text thereof, such
legends or recitals not inconsistent with the provisions of the Deposit
Agreement (i) as may be necessary to enable the Depositary to perform its
obligations hereunder, (ii) as may be required to comply with any
applicable laws or regulations, or with the rules and regulations of any
securities exchange or market upon which ADSs may be traded, listed or quoted,
or to conform with any usage with respect thereto, (iii) as may be
necessary to indicate any special limitations or restrictions to which any
particular Receipts or ADSs are subject by reason of the date of issuance of the
Deposited Securities or otherwise, or (iv) as may be required by any
book-entry system in which the ADSs are held.
10
2.2.3. Title. Subject
to the limitations contained herein and in the Receipt, title to a Receipt (and
to each Certificated ADS evidenced thereby) shall be transferable upon the same
terms as a certificated security under the laws of the State of New York,
provided that, such Receipt has been properly endorsed or is accompanied by
properly executed instruments of transfer. Notwithstanding any notice to the
contrary, the Depositary may deem and treat the Holder of a Receipt (that is,
the person in whose name a Receipt is registered on the books of the Depositary)
as the absolute owner thereof for all purposes. The Depositary shall
have no obligation nor be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement
or any Receipt to any holder of a Receipt or any Beneficial Owner unless such
holder is the Holder of such Receipt registered on the books of the Depositary
or, in the case of a Beneficial Owner, such Beneficial Owner, or the Beneficial
Owner's representative, is the Holder registered on the books of the
Depositary.
2.2.4. Book-Entry
Systems. The Depositary shall make arrangements for the
acceptance of the American Depositary Shares into DTC. Unless issued
by the Depositary as Uncertificated ADSs, a single ADR in the form of a "Balance
Certificate" will (except as contemplated in Section 2.11) evidence the ADSs
held through DTC and will be registered in the name of the nominee for DTC
(currently "Cede & Co.") and will provide that it represents the aggregate
amount of ADSs from time to time indicated in the records of the Depositary as
being issued hereunder and that the aggregate amount of ADSs represented thereby
may from time to time be increased or decreased by making adjustments on such
records of the Depositary and of DTC or its nominee as hereinafter
provided. As such, the nominee for DTC will be the only "Holder" of
the ADR evidencing the ADSs held through DTC. JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A. (or such other entity as is appointed by DTC or its nominee) may hold the
"Balance Certificate" as custodian for DTC. Each Beneficial Owner of
ADSs held through DTC must rely upon the procedures of DTC and the DTC
Participants to exercise or be entitled to any rights attributable to such
ADSs. The DTC Participants shall for all purposes be deemed to have
all requisite power and authority to act on behalf of the Beneficial Owners of
the ADSs held in the DTC Participants' respective accounts in DTC and the
Depositary shall for all purposes be authorized to rely upon any instructions
and information given to it by DTC Participants on behalf of Beneficial Owners
of ADSs. So long as ADSs are held through DTC or unless otherwise
required by law, ownership of beneficial interests in the ADR registered in the
name of the nominee for DTC will be shown on, and transfers of such ownership
will be effected only through, records maintained by (i) DTC or its nominee
(with respect to the interests of DTC Participants), or (ii) DTC Participants or
their nominees (with respect to the interests of clients of DTC
Participants).
11
Section
2.3. Deposit with
Custodian. Until the Depositary is notified otherwise, the Company
has informed the Depositary that under ROC law, as in effect as of the date
hereof, no deposits of Eligible Securities may be made in an ADR Facility, and
no ADSs may be issued against such deposits, without receipt of specific
approval of the SFB, except in connection with (i) the distribution of
additional Eligible Securities in connection with dividends on or free
distributions of Eligible Securities, (ii) the exercise by Holders of their
preemptive rights applicable to Eligible Securities evidenced by ADSs in the
event of capital increases for cash, or (iii) the purchase, as permitted
hereunder, directly by any person or through the Depositary of Shares on the TSE
for deposit in the Share ADR Facility, provided that the total
number of ADSs outstanding after an issuance described in clause (iii) does not
exceed the number of issued ADSs previously approved by the SFB in connection
with the Offering (plus any ADSs created pursuant to clauses (i) and (ii)
above), and subject to any adjustment in the number of Eligible Securities
represented by each ADS. Under ROC law, as in effect as of the date
hereof, issuances under clause (iii) above will be permitted only to the extent
that previously issued ADSs have been canceled and the Shares withdrawn from the
Share ADR Facility upon cancellation of such ADSs have been sold on the
TSE. Except as contemplated by Section 2.11 hereof, the Depositary
will not accept any Shares from the Company or an Affiliate for deposit pursuant
to clause (iii) unless it receives satisfactory opinions of ROC and U.S. counsel
to the person(s) requesting to make such deposit to the effect that such Shares
may lawfully be deposited pursuant to the Deposit Agreement and are not
Restricted Securities. The laws of the ROC applicable to the deposit
of Eligible Securities may change from time to time. There can be no
assurances that current law will continue in effect or that future changes of
ROC law will not adversely affect the ability to deposit Eligible Securities
hereunder.
12
Subject
always to the laws and regulations of the ROC, the Initial Deposit of Eligible
Securities into the ADR Facilities will be made, by or on behalf of the Company
or the investors (or nominees for the investors) acquiring Eligible Securities
and/or ADSs in the Offering, by the Delivery to the Custodian of a Certificate
of Payment evidencing the irrevocable right to receive the physical share
certificates representing the Shares registered in the name of the nominee of
the Depositary as representative of the Holders, as instructed by the
Depositary. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Deposit
Agreement, upon such Initial Deposit, the Depositary shall execute and deliver
ADRs evidencing the ADSs representing the Deposited Securities constituting the
Initial Deposit in the manner provided in Sections 2.5 and 2.11.
Subject
to applicable laws and regulations of the ROC and to the terms and conditions of
this Deposit Agreement and applicable law, Eligible Securities or evidence of
rights to receive Eligible Securities (other than Restricted Securities) may be
deposited by any person (including the Depositary in its individual capacity but
subject, however, in the case of the Company or any Affiliate of the Company, to
Section 5.7 hereof) at any time, whether or not the transfer books of the
Company or the Eligible Securities Registrar, if any, are closed, by Delivery of
the Eligible Securities to the Custodian. Every deposit of Eligible
Securities shall be accompanied by the following: (A)(i) in the case of Eligible Securities
represented by certificates issued in registered form, appropriate
instruments of transfer or endorsement, in a form satisfactory to the Custodian,
(ii) in the case of Eligible Securities represented by certificates in bearer
form, the requisite coupons and talons pertaining thereto, and (iii) in the case of Eligible Securities
delivered by book-entry transfer, confirmation of such book-entry
transfer to the Custodian or that irrevocable instructions have been given to
cause such Eligible Securities to be so transferred, (B) such certifications and
payments (including, without limitation, the Depositary's fees and related
charges) and evidence of such payments (including, without limitation, stamping
or otherwise marking such Eligible Securities by way of receipt) as may be
required by the Depositary or the Custodian in accordance with the provisions of
this Deposit Agreement and applicable law, (C) if the Depositary so
requires, a written order directing the Depositary to execute and deliver to, or
upon the written order of, the person(s) stated in such order a Receipt or
Receipts for the number of American Depositary Shares representing the Eligible
Securities so deposited, (D) evidence satisfactory to the Depositary (which may
be an opinion of counsel) that all necessary approvals have been granted by, or
there has been compliance with the rules and regulations of, any applicable
governmental agency in the ROC, and (E) if the Depositary so requires,
(i) an agreement, assignment or instrument satisfactory to the Depositary
or the Custodian which provides for the prompt transfer by any person in whose
name the Eligible Securities are or have been recorded to the Custodian of any
distribution, or right to subscribe for additional Eligible Securities or to
receive other property in respect of any such deposited Eligible Securities or,
in lieu thereof, such indemnity or other agreement as shall be satisfactory to
the Depositary or the Custodian and (ii) if the Eligible Securities are
registered in the name of the person on whose behalf they are presented for
deposit, an instruction or instructions entitling the Custodian to exercise
voting rights in respect of the Eligible Securities for any and all purposes
until the Eligible Securities so deposited are registered in the name of the
Depositary, the Custodian or any nominee. Without limiting any other
provision of this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall instruct the Custodian
not to, and neither the Depositary nor the Custodian, nor any nominee, agent or
person acting on their behalf shall knowingly, accept for deposit (a) any
Restricted Securities nor (b) any fractional Eligible Securities nor (c) a
number of Eligible Securities which upon application of the ADS to Eligible
Securities ratio would give rise to fractional ADSs. No Eligible
Securities shall be accepted for deposit unless accompanied by evidence, if any
is required by the Depositary, that is reasonably satisfactory to the Depositary
or the Custodian that all conditions to such deposit have been satisfied by the
person depositing such Eligible Securities under the laws and regulations of the
ROC and any necessary approval has been granted by any governmental body in the
ROC, if any, which is then performing the function of the regulator of currency
exchange. The Depositary may issue Receipts against evidence of
rights to receive Eligible Securities from the Company, any agent of the Company
or any custodian, registrar, transfer agent, clearing agency or other entity
involved in ownership or transaction records in respect of the Eligible
Securities. Such evidence of rights shall consist of written blanket
or specific guarantees of ownership of Eligible Securities furnished by the
Company or any such custodian, registrar, transfer agent, clearing agency or
other entity involved in ownership or transaction records in respect of the
Eligible Securities.
13
Section
2.4. Registration and Safekeeping
of Deposited Securities. The Depositary shall instruct the
Custodian upon each Delivery of certificates representing registered Eligible
Securities being deposited hereunder with the Custodian (or other Deposited
Securities pursuant to Article IV hereof), together with the other documents
above specified, to present such certificate or certificates, together with the
appropriate instrument or instruments of transfer or endorsement, duly stamped,
to the Eligible Securities Registrar for transfer and registration of the
Eligible Securities (as soon as transfer and registration can be accomplished
and at the expense of the person for whom the deposit is made) in the name of
the Depositary, the Custodian or a nominee of either. Deposited
Securities shall be held by the Depositary or by a Custodian for the account and
to the order of the Depositary or a nominee in each case on behalf of the
Holders and Beneficial Owners, at such place or places as the Depositary or the
Custodian shall determine. Neither the Depositary nor the Custodian
may dispose of or pledge any of the Deposited Securities unless specifically
permitted under this Agreement.
14
Without
limitation of the foregoing, neither the Depositary nor the Custodian, nor any
nominee, agent or person acting on their behalf shall knowingly accept for
deposit under this Deposit Agreement any Eligible Securities required to be
registered under the provisions of the Securities Act, unless a registration
statement is in effect as to such Eligible Securities, or any Eligible
Securities the deposit of which would violate any provisions of the Articles of
Incorporation of the Company.
Section
2.5. Execution and Delivery of
Receipts. The Depositary has made arrangements with the Custodian
to confirm to the Depositary (i) that a deposit of Eligible Securities has
been made pursuant to Section 2.3 hereof, (ii) that any such Deposited
Securities have been recorded in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or a
nominee of either on the shareholders' register maintained by or on behalf of
the Company by the Eligible Securities Registrar if registered Eligible
Securities have been deposited or if deposit is made by book-entry transfer,
confirmation of such transfer in the books of the Taiwan Securities Central
Depository Co. Ltd., (iii) that all required documents have been received, and
(iv) the person or persons to whom or upon whose order American Depositary
Shares are deliverable in respect thereof and the number of American Depositary
Shares to be so delivered thereby. Such confirmation may be made by
letter, cable, telex, swift message or, at the risk and expense of the person
making the deposit, by facsimile or other means of electronic transmission. Upon
receiving such confirmation from the Custodian, the Depositary, subject to the
terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement, applicable law and the
provisions of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company and the Eligible
Securities, shall issue the ADSs representing the Eligible Securities so
deposited to or upon the order of the person(s) named in the notice delivered to
the Depositary and shall execute and deliver at its Principal Office Receipt(s)
registered in the name or names requested by such person(s) and evidencing the
aggregate number of American Depositary Shares to which such person(s) are
entitled, but only upon payment to the Depositary of the charges of the
Depositary for accepting a deposit, issuing American Depositary Shares and
executing and delivering such Receipt(s) (as set forth in Section 5.9 hereof)
and all taxes and governmental charges and fees payable in connection with such
deposit and the transfer of the Eligible Securities and the issuance of the
Receipt(s). The Depositary shall only issue American Depositary
Shares in whole numbers and deliver American Depositary Receipts evidencing
whole numbers of American Depositary Shares. Nothing herein shall
prohibit any Pre-Release Transaction upon the terms set forth in this Deposit
Agreement.
15
Section
2.6. Transfer, Combination and
Split-up of Receipts.
2.6.1. Transfer. The
Registrar shall register the transfer of Receipts (and of the ADSs represented
thereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the Depositary shall
cancel such Receipts and execute new Receipts evidencing the same aggregate
number and type of ADSs as those evidenced by the Receipts cancelled by the
Depositary, shall cause the Registrar to countersign such new Receipts and shall
Deliver such new Receipts to or upon the order of the person entitled thereto,
if each of the following conditions has been satisfied: (i) the
Receipts have been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized
attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the
purpose of effecting a transfer thereof, (ii) the surrendered Receipts have
been properly endorsed or are accompanied by proper instruments of transfer
(including signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry
practice), (iii) the surrendered Receipts have been duly stamped (if
required by the laws of the State of New York or of the United States), and
(iv) all applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary and all applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth
in Section 5.9 hereof) have been paid, subject, however, in each case, to
the terms and conditions of the applicable Receipts, of the Deposit Agreement
and of applicable law, in each case as in effect at the time
thereof.
2.6.2. Combination and Split
Up. The Registrar shall register the split-up or combination
of Receipts (and of the ADSs represented thereby) on the books maintained for
such purpose and the Depositary shall cancel such Receipts and execute new
Receipts for the number of ADSs requested, but in the aggregate not exceeding
the number of the same type of ADSs evidenced by the Receipts cancelled by the
Depositary, shall cause the Registrar to countersign such new Receipts and shall
Deliver such new Receipts to or upon the order of the Holder thereof, if each of
the following conditions has been satisfied: (i) the Receipts
have been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized attorney of the
Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the purpose of effecting a
split-up or combination thereof, and (ii) all applicable fees and charges
of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and
governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 hereof) have been
paid, subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the
applicable Receipts, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each
case, as in effect at the time thereof.
16
2.6.3. Co-Transfer
Agents. The Depositary may appoint one or more co-transfer
agents for the purpose of effecting transfers, combinations and split-ups of
Receipts at designated transfer offices on behalf of the
Depositary. In carrying out its functions, a co-transfer agent may
require evidence of authority and compliance with applicable laws and other
requirements by Holders or persons entitled to such Receipts and will be
entitled to protection and indemnity to the same extent as the
Depositary. Such co-transfer agents may be removed and substitutes
appointed by the Depositary. Each co-transfer agent appointed under
this Section 2.6 (other than the Depositary) shall give notice in writing to the
Depositary accepting such appointment and agreeing to be bound by the applicable
terms of the Deposit Agreement.
Section
2.7. Surrender of ADSs and
Withdrawal and Sale of Deposited Securities.
(a) ROC Requirements. The
Depositary and the Company have been advised that under current ROC law, a
Holder who is a non-ROC person wishing to withdraw Deposited Securities from the
ADR facility is required to appoint an eligible agent in the ROC for filing tax
returns and making tax payments (a "Tax Guarantor"). Such Tax Guarantor will be
required to meet the qualifications set by the Ministry of Finance of the ROC
and will act as the guarantor of the withdrawing Holder's tax payment
obligations. In addition, subject to certain limited exceptions, under current
ROC law, repatriation of profits by a non-ROC withdrawing Holder is subject to
the submission of evidence of the appointment of a Tax Guarantor to, and
approval thereof by, the tax authority. In addition, under current ROC law, such
withdrawing Holder is required to appoint a local agent in the ROC to, among
other things, open a securities trading account with a local securities
brokerage firm, remit funds and exercise a shareholder's rights. In addition,
such withdrawing Holder is also required to appoint a custodian bank to hold the
securities and cash in safekeeping, make confirmations and settle trades and
report all relevant information. Without making such appointment and the opening
of such account, the withdrawing Holder would be unable to hold or subsequently
sell the Deposited Securities withdrawn from the ADR Facilities on the TSE or
otherwise. The laws of the ROC applicable to the withdrawal of Deposited
Securities may change from time to time. There can be no assurances that current
law will remain in effect or that future changes of ROC law will not adversely
affect the ability of Holders to withdraw Deposited Securities
hereunder.
17
(b) Sale of Deposited
Securities. Upon surrender of ADSs at the Principal Office and upon
payment of any fees, reasonable expenses, taxes or other governmental charges as
provided hereunder, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the
Company's Articles of Incorporation, and the transfer restrictions applicable to
the Deposited Securities, if any, Holders may request that the Deposited
Securities represented by such Holders' ADSs be sold on such Holder's behalf.
Any Holder requesting a sale of Deposited Securities may be required by the
Depositary to deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Depositary a written
order requesting the Depositary to sell, or cause to be sold, such Deposited
Securities. Any such sale of Deposited Securities will be conducted in
accordance with applicable ROC law through a securities company in the ROC on
the TSE or in such other manner as is or may be permitted under applicable ROC
law. The Depositary and the Company have been advised that under current ROC
law, the Shares deposited in connection with the Offering may not be sold for a
period of three months from the closing of the Offering. Any such sale of
Deposited Securities will be at the expense and risk of the Holder requesting
such sale. Any Holder requesting the Depositary to sell the Deposited Securities
represented by such Holder's ADSs may be required to enter into a separate
agreement to cover the terms of the sale of such Deposited
Securities.
Upon
receipt of any proceeds from any such sale, the Depositary shall, subject to any
restrictions imposed by ROC law and regulations, and as provided in the Deposit
Agreement, convert or cause to be converted any such proceeds into U.S. dollars
and distribute any such proceeds to the Holders entitled thereto after deduction
or payment of any fees, reasonable expenses, taxes or governmental charges
(including, without limitation, any ROC and U.S. taxes) incurred in connection
with such sale, as provided under the Deposit Agreement. Any such
sale may be subject to ROC taxation on capital gains, if any, and will be
subject to a securities transaction tax in the ROC. The ROC does not, as of the
date hereof, impose tax on capital gains arising from ROC securities
transactions, but there can be no assurance that a capital gains tax on ROC
securities transactions will not be imposed in the future or as to the manner in
which any ROC capital gains tax in respect of a sale of Deposited Securities
would be imposed or calculated.
18
(c) Withdrawal of Deposited
Securities. The Holder of this ADR (and of the ADSs evidenced hereby)
shall be entitled to Delivery (at the Custodian's designated office) of the
Deposited Securities at the time represented by the ADS(s) evidenced hereby upon
satisfaction of each of the following conditions: (i) the Holder (or
a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) has duly Delivered to the Depositary
at its Principal Office the ADSs evidenced hereby (and, if applicable, this ADR)
for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented thereby,
(ii) if so required by the Depositary, this ADR has been properly endorsed in
blank or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer in blank (including
signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice),
(iii) if so required by the Depositary, the Holder of the ADSs has executed and
delivered to the Depositary a written order directing the Depositary to cause
the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be Delivered to or upon the written
order of the person(s) designated in such order, (iv) all applicable fees and
charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all
applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.09
hereof) have been paid, and (v) the Holder of the ADSs has delivered to the
Depositary any and all certifications necessary to allow the Company to comply
with applicable ROC law reporting requirements (including the Form of
Certification Upon Withdrawal as Exhibit B to the Deposit Agreement), duly
completed by or on behalf of the Beneficial Owner(s) of the ADSs surrendered for
withdrawal (unless the Depositary is otherwise instructed by the Company),
subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of this ADR, of the
Deposit Agreement, of the Company's Articles of Incorporation and of any
applicable laws and regulations and the rules of the Taiwan Securities Central
Depository Co. Ltd., and to any provisions of or governing the Deposited
Securities, in each case as in effect at the time thereof. The Depositary and
the Company have been advised that under current ROC law, ADSs representing
newly issued Shares deposited in connection with the Offering may not be
surrendered for a period of three months from the closing of the Offering;
consequently, the Company and the Depositary have elected to prohibit the
surrender of ADSs and the withdrawal of any Shares deposited in connection with
the Offering until the expiration of such three month period.
19
Upon
satisfaction of each of the conditions specified above, the Depositary (i) shall
cancel the ADSs delivered to it (and, if applicable, the ADR evidencing the ADSs
so delivered), (ii) shall direct the Registrar to record the cancellation of the
ADSs so delivered on the books maintained for such purpose, and (iii) shall
direct the Custodian to deliver (without unreasonable delay) at the Custodian's
designated office the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs so cancelled
together with any certificate or other document of or relating to title for the
Deposited Securities, or evidence of the electronic transfer thereof (if
available), as the case may be, to or upon the written order of the person(s)
designated in the order delivered to the Depositary for such purpose, subject
however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, of
this ADR, of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company, of applicable laws
and regulations and of the rules of the Taiwan Securities Central Depository Co.
Ltd., and to the terms and conditions of or governing the Deposited Securities,
in each case as in effect at the time thereof.
The
Depositary shall not accept for surrender ADSs representing less than a whole
number of Deposited Securities. In the case of the Delivery of ADSs representing
a number other than a whole number of Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall
cause ownership of the appropriate whole number of Deposited Securities to be
delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall, at the discretion of
the Depositary, either (i) return to the person surrendering such ADSs the
number of ADSs representing any remaining fractional Deposited Securities, or
(ii) sell or cause to be sold the fractional Deposited Securities represented by
the ADS(s) so surrendered and remit the proceeds of such sale (net of (a)
applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b)
taxes withheld) to the person surrendering the ADSs.
20
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in this ADR or the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may
make delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary of (i) any cash
dividends or cash distributions, or (ii) any proceeds from the sale of any
distributions of securities or rights, which are at the time held by the
Depositary in respect of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs
evidenced by this ADR. At the request, risk and expense of any Holder
surrendering ADSs represented by this ADR, and for the account of such Holder,
the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward (to the extent permitted by
law) any cash or other property (other than securities) held by the Custodian in
respect of the Deposited Securities represented by such ADSs to the Depositary
for delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary. Such direction shall be
given by letter or, at the request, risk and expense of such Holder, by air
courier, cable, telex or facsimile transmission.
Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR, the withdrawal of
Deposited Securities may be restricted only for the reasons set forth in General
Instruction I.A.(1) of Form F-6 (as such instructions may be amended from time
to time) under the Securities Act of 1933.
Section
2.8. Limitations on Execution and
Delivery, Transfer, etc. of Receipts; Suspension of Delivery, Transfer,
etc.
2.8.1. Additional
Requirements. As a condition precedent to the execution and
delivery, registration, registration of transfer, split-up, combination or
surrender of any Receipt, the delivery of any distribution thereon, or the
withdrawal of any Deposited Securities, the Depositary or the Custodian may
require (i) payment from the depositor of Eligible Securities or presenter of
ADSs or of a Receipt of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other
governmental charges and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect
thereto (including any such tax or charge and fee with respect to Eligible
Securities being deposited or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees and
charges of the Depositary as provided in Section 5.9 hereof, (ii) the production
of proof satisfactory to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature
or any other matter contemplated by Section 3.1 hereof and (iii) compliance with
(A) any laws or governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery
of Receipts or American Depositary Shares or to the withdrawal of Deposited
Securities and (B) such reasonable regulations as the Depositary may establish
consistent with the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and applicable
law.
21
2.8.2. Additional
Limitations. The issuance of ADSs against deposits of Eligible
Securities generally or against deposits of particular Eligible Securities may
be suspended, or the deposit of particular Eligible Securities may be refused,
or the registration of transfer of Receipts in particular instances may be
refused, or the registration of transfers of Receipts generally may be
suspended, during any period when the transfer books of the Company, the
Depositary, a Registrar or the Eligible Securities Registrar are closed or if
any such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the Depositary, in good
faith, at any time or from time to time because of any requirement of law, any
government or governmental body or commission or any securities exchange on
which the ADSs or Eligible Securities are listed, or under any provision of this
Deposit Agreement or provisions of, or governing, the Deposited Securities, or
any meeting of shareholders of the Company or for any other reason, subject, in
all cases, to Section 7.8 hereof.
2.8.3. Regulatory
Restrictions. Notwithstanding any provision of this Deposit
Agreement or any Receipt to the contrary, Holders are entitled to surrender
outstanding ADSs to withdraw the Deposited Securities at any time subject only
to (i) temporary delays caused by closing the transfer books of the Depositary
or the Company or the deposit of Eligible Securities in connection with voting
at a shareholders' meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of
fees, taxes and similar charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S., ROC or foreign
laws or governmental regulations relating to the Receipts or to the withdrawal
of the Deposited Securities, and (iv) other circumstances specifically
contemplated by Section I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such
General Instructions may be amended from time to time).
Section
2.9. Lost Receipts,
etc. In case any Receipt shall be mutilated, destroyed, lost, or
stolen, the Depositary shall execute and deliver a new Receipt of like tenor at
the expense of the Holder (a) in the case of a mutilated Receipt, in exchange of
and substitution for such mutilated Receipt upon cancellation thereof, or (b) in
the case of a destroyed, lost or stolen Receipt, in lieu of and in substitution
for such destroyed, lost, or stolen Receipt, after the Holder thereof
(i) has submitted to the Depositary a written request for such exchange and
substitution before the Depositary has notice that the Receipt has been acquired
by a bona fide purchaser, (ii) has provided such security or indemnity
(including an indemnity bond) as may be required by the Depositary to save it
and any of its agents harmless, and (iii) has satisfied any other
reasonable requirements imposed by the Depositary, including, without
limitation, evidence satisfactory to the Depositary of such destruction, loss or
theft of such Receipt, the authenticity thereof and the Holder's ownership
thereof.
22
Section
2.10.
Cancellation and
Destruction of Surrendered Receipts; Maintenance of Records. All
Receipts surrendered to the Depositary shall be canceled by the
Depositary. Canceled Receipts shall not be entitled to any benefits
under this Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable against the Depositary
for any purpose. The Depositary is authorized to destroy Receipts so
canceled, provided the Depositary maintains a record of all destroyed
Receipts. Any ADSs held in book-entry form (i.e., through accounts at
DTC) shall be deemed canceled when the Depositary causes the number of ADSs
evidenced by the Balance Certificate to be reduced by the number of ADSs
surrendered (without the need to physically destroy the Balance
Certificate).
Section
2.11.
Temporary
ADSs. In the event that, in determining the rights and obligations
of parties hereto with respect to any Temporary ADSs, any conflict arises
between (a) the terms of this Deposit Agreement (other than this Section 2.11)
and (b) the terms of (i) the Temporary ADSs issued hereunder as set forth in
this Section 2.11 or (ii) the applicable Temporary ADR, the terms and conditions
set forth in this Section 2.11 or the applicable Temporary ADR shall be
controlling and shall govern the rights and obligations of the parties to this
Deposit Agreement pertaining to the Certificate of Payment, the Temporary ADSs
and the Temporary ADRs.
Whenever
the Company proposes to issue any Certificate of Payment eligible for deposit
hereunder (in connection with the Offering or otherwise), the Company shall
timely notify the Depositary thereof and provide the Depositary with written
instructions to the effect that, inter alia, (i) the
Certificate of Payment has been or is to be issued pursuant to a bona fide purchase of
Shares from the Company, (ii) the Certificate of Payment is not, and shall
not be deemed to be upon its deposit, and the Shares issuable pursuant to the
terms of the Certificate of Payment will not be, Restricted Securities, and such
instructions shall include, inter alia, (i) a description
of the rights (if any) to any distribution upon Deposited Securities to be made
to Holders of Temporary ADSs representing such Certificates of Payment upon the
terms set forth in Article IV hereof, and (ii) the date established by
the Company upon which the Company shall convert or cause to be converted the
Certificate of Payment into Shares on its records and on the records of the
Eligible Securities Registrar.
23
Subject
always to the laws and regulations of the ROC, upon deposit of any Certificate
of Payment hereunder and payment to the Depositary of the charges of the
Depositary for accepting a deposit, issuing ADSs and issuing and delivering
Receipts (as set forth in Section 5.9 hereof), the Depositary shall
(i) cause the Custodian to hold such Certificate of Payment separate and
distinct from the Shares, any other Certificate(s) of Payment and any other
Deposited Securities and (ii) issue and deliver Temporary ADSs representing
interests in the Certificate of Payment so deposited. The Temporary
ADSs so issued shall be identified and treated separately and distinctly from
any other ADSs representing Deposited Securities hereunder by means, inter alia, of separate CUSIP
numbering and legending (if necessary). The Depositary may issue
Temporary ADSs in one or multiple series as the Depositary in its sole
discretion deems necessary and appropriate. No Temporary ADS shall be
fungible with any other ADSs issued hereunder.
The
Depositary shall deliver Temporary ADSs in book-entry form only. No
certificated Temporary ADRs will be issued except for a "Balance Certificate"
evidencing all Temporary ADSs held in DTC, which shall be substantially in the
form of Temporary ADR set forth in Exhibit A hereto,
except as may be necessary to identify and treat the Temporary ADSs as separate
and distinct from any other ADSs issued under the terms of this Deposit
Agreement. The Depositary shall make arrangements for the acceptance
of such Temporary ADSs into DTC upon the terms set forth in Section 2.2.4
hereof. The Temporary ADSs and the Temporary ADRs evidenced thereby
are identical to and confer all of the rights and obligations set forth herein
relating to Receipts and ADSs represented thereby except that (i) in
accordance with the applicable laws and regulations of the ROC, Holders of
Temporary ADRs will have no right to withdraw the Deposited Securities
represented by their Temporary ADSs, (ii) Temporary ADRs shall bear
separate CUSIP numbers that shall be different from any CUSIP number that is or
may be assigned to the other ADSs issued hereunder, (iii) neither Temporary ADSs
nor interests in any Certificate of Payment shall be eligible for any
Pre-Release Transactions described in Section 5.10 hereof and (iv) in the
event that the Company makes any distributions upon Deposited Securities upon
the terms of Article IV of this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall
make distributions to Holders of Temporary ADSs on the basis of the
distribution(s) received from the Company in respect of the Certificate(s) of
Payment corresponding to the series of Temporary ADSs held by such
Holder. Nothing herein shall impose any obligation upon the
Depositary to make any distributions to Holders of any series of Temporary ADSs
on the same basis as Holders of Share ADSs or any other series of Temporary ADSs
issued hereunder.
24
The
Company undertakes to make Shares available in exchange for any specified
Certificate of Payment, as soon as possible after the issuance of the
Certificate of Payment and to provide timely notice thereof to the
Depositary. Upon receipt of such notice from the Company, the
Depositary shall instruct the Custodian to surrender any such Certificate of
Payment then eligible for exchange to the Company against delivery of Shares to
the Depositary in exchange therefor. Upon receipt by the Depositary
of (i) notice of the exchange of Shares for such Certificate of Payment and (ii)
confirmation from the Company that the Shares so received rank in all respects
pari passu with the
Deposited Securities evidenced by Share ADSs, the Depositary shall give notice
thereof to the applicable Holders of Temporary ADSs and thereafter Temporary
ADSs shall be eligible for exchange into Share ADSs. Interests in
Temporary ADSs in DTC will be automatically exchanged for beneficial interests
in Share ADSs as follows: with no further action by Holders, the
Depositary shall, as soon as practicable after the exchange of the Certificate
of Payment(s) for Shares, instruct DTC to automatically transfer any position
held by a DTC participant under the CUSIP number assigned to the Temporary ADSs
to the CUSIP number assigned to the Share ADSs. Holders and
Beneficial Owners of such Temporary ADSs shall thereafter be Holders and
Beneficial Owners of Share ADSs issued hereunder and shall have all the rights
and obligations specified in this Deposit Agreement and in the Receipts
pertaining to Share ADSs. The Depositary will charge no fee for the
cancellation of the Temporary ADSs and issuance of Share ADSs in exchange
therefor.
Notwithstanding
anything in the Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the Depositary shall have no
obligation to any party to exchange Temporary ADSs for Share ADSs as provided
herein unless and until, upon delivery by the Depositary of the related
Certificate of Payment, the Company shall have delivered Shares in respect
thereof to the Depositary.
25
Section
2.12. Certificated/Uncertificated
ADSs. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Deposit Agreement, the
Depositary may, at any time and from time to time, issue ADSs that are not
evidenced by ADRs (such ADSs, the "Uncertificated ADS(s)") and ADSs that are not
evidenced by ADRs, (such ADSs, the "Certificated ADS(s)"). When issuing and
maintaining Uncertificated ADS(s) under this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary
shall at all times be subject to (a) the standards applicable to registrars and
transfer agents maintaining direct registration systems for equity securities in
New York and issuing uncertificated securities under New York law, and (b) the
terms of New York law applicable to uncertificated equity securities.
Uncertificated ADSs shall not be represented by any instruments but shall be
evidenced by registration in the books of the Depositary maintained for such
purpose. Holders of Uncertificated ADSs, that are not subject to any registered
pledges, liens, restrictions or adverse claims of which the Depositary has
written notice at such time, shall at all times have the right to exchange any
Uncertificated ADS(s) for Certificated ADS(s) of the same type and class,
subject in each case to applicable laws and any rules and regulations the
Depositary may have established in respect of the Uncertificated ADSs and
Certificated ADSs. Holders of Certificated ADSs shall, if the
Depositary maintains a direct registration system for the ADSs, have the right
to exchange any Certificated ADS(s) for Uncertificated ADS(s) upon (i) the due
surrender of such Certificated ADS(s) to the Depositary for such purpose and
(ii) the presentation of a written request to that effect to the Depositary,
subject in each case to (w) all liens and restrictions noted on the ADR
evidencing such Certificated ADS(s) and all adverse claims of which the
Depositary then has written notice, (x) the terms of this Deposit Agreement and
the rules and regulations that the Depositary may establish for such purposes
hereunder, (y) applicable law, and (z) payment of the Depositary fees and
expenses applicable to such exchange of Certificated ADS(s) for Uncertificated
ADS(s). Uncertificated ADSs shall in all material respects be identical to
Certificated ADSs of the same type and class, except that (1) no ADR(s) shall
be, or shall need to be, issued to evidence Uncertificated ADSs, (2)
Uncertificated ADSs shall, subject to the terms of this Deposit Agreement, be
transferable upon the same terms and conditions as uncertificated securities
under New York law, (3) the ownership of Uncertificated ADSs shall be recorded
on the books of the Depositary maintained for such purpose and evidence of such
ownership shall be reflected in periodic statements provided by the Depositary
to the Holder(s) in accordance with applicable New York law, (4) the Depositary
may from time to time, upon notice to the Holders of
26
Uncertificated
ADSs affected thereby, establish rules and regulations, and amend or supplement
existing rules and regulations, as may be deemed reasonably necessary to
maintain Uncertificated ADSs on behalf of Holders, provided that such rules and
regulations do not conflict with the terms of this Deposit Agreement and
applicable law, (5) any Uncertificated ADS(s) shall not be entitled to any
benefits under this Deposit Agreement or be valid or enforceable for any purpose
against the Depositary or the Company unless such Uncertificated ADS(s) is/are
registered on the books of the Depositary maintained for such purpose, (6) the
Depositary may, in connection with any deposit of Shares resulting in the
issuance of Uncertificated ADSs and with any transfer, pledge, release and
cancellation of Uncertificated ADSs, require the prior receipt of such
documentation as the Depositary may deem reasonably appropriate, and (7) upon
termination of this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall not require Holders
of Uncertificated ADSs to affirmatively instruct the Depositary before remitting
proceeds from the sale of the Deposited Securities represented by such Holders'
Uncertificated ADSs under the terms of Section 6.2 of this Deposit Agreement.
When issuing ADSs under the terms of this Deposit Agreement, including, without
limitation, issuances pursuant to Sections 2.5, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4 and 4.10, the
Depositary may in its discretion determine to issue Uncertificated ADSs rather
than Certificated ADSs, unless otherwise specifically instructed by the
applicable Holder to issue Certificated ADSs. All provisions and conditions of
this Deposit Agreement shall apply to Uncertificated ADSs to the same extent as
to Certificated ADSs, except as contemplated by this Section 2.12. The
Depositary is authorized and directed to take any and all actions and establish
any and all procedures deemed reasonably necessary to give effect to the terms
of this Section 2.12. Any references in this Deposit Agreement or any ADR(s) to
the terms "American Depositary Share(s)" or "ADS(s)" shall, unless the context
otherwise requires, include Certificated ADS(s) and Uncertificated ADS(s).
Except as set forth in this Section 2.12 and except as required by applicable
law, the Uncertificated ADSs shall be treated as ADSs issued and outstanding
under the terms of this Deposit Agreement. In the event that, in determining the
rights and obligations of parties hereto with respect to any Uncertificated
ADSs, any conflict arises between (i) the terms of this Deposit Agreement (other
than this Section 2.12) and (ii) the terms of this Section 2.12, the terms and
conditions set forth in this Section 2.12 shall be controlling and shall govern
the rights and obligations of the parties to this Deposit Agreement pertaining
to the Uncertificated ADSs.
27
ARTICLE
3.
CERTAIN
OBLIGATIONS OF HOLDERS
AND
BENEFICIAL OWNERS OF RECEIPTS
Section
3.1. Proofs, Certificates and
Other Information. Any person presenting Eligible Securities for
deposit, any Holder and any Beneficial Owner may be required, and every Holder
and Beneficial Owner agrees, from time to time to (a) provide to the Depositary
and the Custodian proof satisfactory to the Depositary and the Custodian, as the
case may be, of (i) the identity of any signatory and genuineness of any
signature and (ii) such other information, including without limitation,
information as to citizenship, residence, exchange control approval, beneficial
ownership of any securities, compliance with applicable law, regulations,
provisions of or governing Deposited Securities and terms of the Deposit
Agreement and any Receipts, as it may deem necessary or proper; and (c)
compliance with such regulations as the Depositary may establish consistent with
the Deposit Agreement and (b) to execute such certifications and to make such
representations and warranties, and to provide such other information and
documentation (or, in the case of Eligible Securities in registered form
presented for deposit, such information relating to the registration on the
books of the Company or of the Eligible Securities Registrar) as the Depositary
or the Custodian may reasonably deem necessary or proper or as the Company may
reasonably require by written request to the Depositary in order for the Company
to comply with applicable law. The Depositary and the Registrar, as
applicable, may withhold the execution or delivery or registration of transfer
of any Receipt or the distribution or sale of any dividend or distribution of
rights or of the proceeds thereof or, to the extent not limited by the terms of
Section 7.8 hereof, the delivery of any Deposited Securities until such
proof or other information is filed or such certifications are executed, or such
representations are made, or such other documentation or information provided,
in each case to the Depositary's, the Registrar's and, as applicable, the
Company's satisfaction. Upon the Company's written request and
expense, the Depositary shall provide the Company, in a timely manner, with
copies or originals if necessary and appropriate of (i) any such proofs of
citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, or exchange control approval which it
receives from Holders and Beneficial Owners, (ii) any other information or
documents which the Company may reasonably request and which the Depositary
shall reasonably request and receive from any Holder or Beneficial Owner or any
person presenting Eligible Securities for deposit or ADSs for cancellation,
transfer or withdrawal, and (iii) in the case of withdrawal of Shares, any
information and documents provided by Holders to the Depositary, in accordance
with Exhibit C of this Agreement. Nothing herein shall obligate the
Depositary to (i) obtain any information for the Company if not provided by
the Holders or Beneficial Owners or (ii) verify or vouch for the accuracy
of the information so provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners.
28
Section
3.2. Liability for Taxes and
Other Charges. If any tax or other governmental charge shall become
payable by or on behalf of the Custodian or the Depositary with respect to any
American Depositary Receipt, any Deposited Securities or any distribution
thereon, such tax or other governmental charge shall be paid by the Holders to
the Depositary. The Depositary may refuse to effect any registration,
registration of transfer, split-up or combination hereof or, subject to Section
7.8, any withdrawal of such Deposited Securities until such payment is
made. The Depositary may also deduct from any distributions on or in
respect of Deposited Securities, or may sell by public or private sale for the
account of the Holder hereof any part or all of such Deposited Securities (after
attempting by reasonable means to notify the Holder hereof prior to such sale),
and may apply such deduction or the proceeds of any such sale in payment of such
tax or other governmental charge, the Holder hereof remaining liable for any
deficiency, and shall reduce the number of ADSs evidenced hereby to reflect any
such sales of Shares and shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale or
the balance of any such property after deduction of such tax or other
governmental charge to the Holder hereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
Company will pay all stamp duties and other similar duties or taxes payable in
the ROC, the United States of America and any other jurisdiction, on or in
connection with the constitution and issue of the ADSs and the execution or
other event concerning the Deposit Agreement. If any legal proceedings are taken
to enforce the obligations of the Company under the Deposit Agreement or the
ADSs (including the certificates evidencing such ADSs) and for the purpose of
such proceedings any of them are required to be taken into or enforced in any
jurisdiction and stamp duties or other similar duties or taxes become payable in
connection with such proceedings in such jurisdiction, the Company will
forthwith pay (or reimburse the person making a valid payment of) all such stamp
duties and other similar duties and taxes, including penalties and interest (if
any) unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction in such
proceedings. The Depositary may sell any Deposited Securities and
cancel ADSs with respect thereof in order to pay any such stamp duties or other
similar duties or taxes owed hereunder by Holders without the Depositary being
required to request payment thereof from Holders. In connection with any
distribution to Holders, the Company will remit to the appropriate governmental
authority or agency all amounts (if any) required to be withheld and owing to
such authority or agency by the Company; and the Depositary and the Custodian
will remit to the appropriate governmental authority or agency all amounts (if
any) required to be withheld and owing to such authority or agency by the
Depositary or the Custodian. If the Depositary determines that any
distribution in property other than cash (including Shares or rights) on
Deposited Securities is subject to any tax that the Depositary or the Custodian
is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such
property in such amounts and in such manner as the Depositary deems necessary
and practicable to pay such taxes, by public or private sale, and the Depositary
shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale or the balance of any such
property after deduction of such taxes to the Holders entitled thereto. The
Company shall, as soon as practicable after the due date for any payment to the
government of the ROC of any tax or other governmental charge with respect to
any distribution with respect to Deposited Securities, provide the Depositary
with an official receipt from the ROC (or certified copies thereof) setting
forth the amounts, if any, of tax or other government charge so paid to the
government of the ROC. The Depositary shall provide a copy of such
receipt, or other documentation, to the Holder of the ADRs evidencing such ADSs
that are representing such Deposited Securities at the time of such distribution
upon the request made by the Holder thereof to the Depositary. The
Depositary shall elect to waive any and all deferral of income tax on Share
Distributions received hereunder. Each Holder of an ADR or an
interest therein agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian
and any of their respective directors, employees, agents and affiliates against,
and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority
with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of
any refund of taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit
obtained.
29
Section
3.3. Representations and
Warranties on Deposit of Eligible Securities.
(a) Deposit of
Shares. Each person depositing Shares under the Deposit Agreement
shall be deemed thereby to represent and warrant that (i) such Shares and
the certificates therefor are duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid,
non-assessable and legally obtained by such person, (ii) all preemptive
(and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Shares have been validly
waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such deposit is duly
authorized so to do and (iv) the Shares presented for deposit are free and
clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage or adverse
claim, and are not, and the American Depositary Shares issuable upon such
deposit will not be, Restricted Securities and the Shares presented for deposit
have not been stripped of any rights or entitlements. Such
representations and warranties shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of
Shares, the issuance and cancellation of American Depositary Shares in respect
thereof and the transfer of such American Depositary Shares.
30
If any
such representations or warranties are false in any way, the Company and the
Depositary shall be authorized, at the cost and expense of the person depositing
Shares, to take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences
thereof.
(b) Deposit of Certificate(s) of
Payment. Whenever the Company shall deposit any Certificate of
Payment under this Deposit Agreement, the Company shall be deemed thereby to
represent and warrant that (i) such Certificate of Payment is, and the Shares to
be received in exchange for the Certificate of Payment will be, duly authorized,
validly issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained, (ii) all
preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to such Certificate of
Payment have been, and with respect to the Shares to be received in exchange for
the Certificate of Payment will have been, validly waived or exercised, (iii)
the Company has duly authorized the issuance of the Shares to be delivered in
exchange for the Certificate of Payment so presented for deposit, (iv) the
Certificate of Payment presented for deposit is, and the Shares to be deposited
upon the exchange of the Certificate of Payment for Shares will be, free and
clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, change, mortgage or adverse
claim, and are not, and the Temporary ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not
be, Restricted Securities and (v) the Certificate of Payment presented for
deposit has not been, and the Shares to be deposited upon the exchange for the
Certificate of Payment will not have been, stripped of any rights or
entitlements. Such representations and warranties shall survive the
deposit of any Certificate of Payment, the issuance and cancellation of
Temporary ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such Temporary
ADSs.
31
If any
such representations or warranties are false in any way, the Depositary shall be
authorized, at the cost and expense of the Company, to take any and all action
necessary to correct the consequences thereof.
Section
3.4. Compliance with Information
Requests. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Deposit
Agreement, each Holder and Beneficial Owner agrees to comply with requests from
the Company pursuant to ROC law, the rules and requirements of the TSE, and any
other stock exchange on which the Eligible Securities or ADSs are, or will be,
registered, traded or listed or the Articles of Incorporation of the Company,
which are made to provide information, inter alia, as to the
capacity in which such Holder or Beneficial Owner owns American Depositary
Shares (and Eligible Securities or Deposited Securities, as the case may be) and
regarding the identity of any other person(s) interested in such American
Depositary Shares and the nature of such interest and various other matters,
whether or not they are Holders and/or Beneficial Owners at the time of such
request. The Depositary agrees to use its reasonable efforts to
forward, upon the request of the Company, and at the Company's expense, any such
request from the Company to the Holders and to forward to the Company any such
responses to such requests received by the Depositary.
Section
3.5. Ownership
Restrictions. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Deposit
Agreement, the Company may restrict transfers of the Shares, Eligible Securities
or securities convertible into Shares where the Company informs the Depositary
that such transfer might result in ownership of Shares exceeding limits imposed
by applicable law, the SFB, the TSE or the Articles of Incorporation of the
Company. The Company may also restrict, in such manner as it deems
appropriate, transfers of the certificated American Depositary Shares where such
transfer may result in the total number of Shares, Eligible Securities, or
securities convertible into Shares represented by the American Depositary Shares
owned by a single Holder or Beneficial Owner to exceed any such
limits. The Company reserves the right to instruct Holders to deliver
their American Depositary Shares for cancellation and withdrawal of the
Deposited Securities so as to permit the Company to deal directly with the
Holder thereof as a holder of Shares and Holders agree to comply with such
instructions. The Depositary agrees to cooperate with the
Company in its efforts to inform Holders of the Company's exercise of its rights
under this paragraph and agrees to consult with, and provide reasonable
assistance without risk, liability or expense on the part of the Depositary, to
the Company on the manner or manners in which it may enforce such rights with
respect to any Holder.
32
ARTICLE
4.
THE
DEPOSITED SECURITIES
Section
4.1. Cash
Distributions. Subject always to the laws and regulations of the
ROC, whenever the Depositary receives confirmation from the Custodian of receipt
of any cash dividend or other cash distribution on any Deposited Securities, or
receives proceeds from the sale of any Deposited Securities or any entitlements
held in respect of Deposited Securities under the terms hereof, the Depositary
will, if at the time of receipt thereof any amounts received in a Foreign
Currency can in the judgment of the Depositary (pursuant to Section 4.7
hereof) be converted on a practicable basis into Dollars transferable to the
United States, promptly convert or cause to be converted such cash dividend,
distribution or proceeds into Dollars (on the terms described in
Section 4.7) and will distribute promptly the amount thus received (net of
(a) the applicable fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred
by, the Depositary and (b) taxes withheld) to the Holders entitled thereto
as of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the number of American Depositary
Shares held as of the ADS Record Date. The Depositary shall
distribute only such amount, however, as can be distributed without attributing
to any Holder a fraction of one cent. Fractional cents will be
withheld without liability and dealt with by the Depositary in accordance with
its then current practices. If the Company, the Custodian or the
Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from any cash dividend or
other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities an amount on
account of taxes, duties or other governmental charges, the amount distributed
to Holders on the American Depositary Shares representing such Deposited
Securities shall be reduced accordingly. Such withheld amounts shall
be forwarded by the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary to the relevant
governmental authority. Evidence of payment thereof by the Company
shall be forwarded by the Company to the Depositary upon request.
Section
4.2. Distribution in Eligible
Securities. Subject always to the laws and regulations of the ROC,
if any distribution upon any Deposited Securities consists of a dividend in, or
free distribution of, Eligible Securities, the Company shall cause such Eligible
Securities to be deposited with the Custodian and registered, as the case may
be, in the name of the Depositary, the Custodian or any of their
33
nominees. Upon
receipt of confirmation of such deposit from the Custodian, the Depositary shall
establish the ADS Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.8 and either
(i) the Depositary shall, subject to Section 5.9 hereof, and the laws and
regulations of the ROC, distribute to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date in
proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held as of the ADS Record
Date, additional American Depositary Shares, which represent in the aggregate
the number of Eligible Securities received as such dividend, or free
distribution, subject to the other terms of this Deposit Agreement (including,
without limitation, (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and reasonable
expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), or (ii) if additional
American Depositary Shares are not so distributed, each American Depositary
Share issued and outstanding after the ADS Record Date shall, to the extent
permissible by law, thenceforth also represent rights and interests in the
additional integral number of Eligible Securities distributed upon the Deposited
Securities represented thereby (subject to the laws and regulations of the ROC
and net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary and (b) taxes). In lieu of delivering fractional American
Depositary Shares, the Depositary shall sell the number of Eligible Securities
or American Depositary Shares, as the case may be, represented by the aggregate
of such fractions and distribute the net proceeds upon the terms described in
Section 4.1. In the event that (x) the Depositary determines
that any distribution in property (including Eligible Securities) is subject to
any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to
withhold, or, (y) if the Company, in the fulfillment of its obligation under
Section 5.7 hereof, has furnished an opinion of U.S. counsel determining
that Eligible Securities must be registered under the Securities Act or other
laws in order to be distributed to Holders (and no such registration statement
has been declared effective), or (z) the deposit of Eligible Securities is not
permitted under the laws or regulations of the ROC, the Depositary may dispose
of all or a portion of such property (including Eligible Securities and rights
to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by public
or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable, and the
Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale (after deduction
of such (a) taxes and (b) fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses
incurred by, the Depositary) to Holders entitled thereto upon the
terms described in Section 4.1. The Depositary shall hold and/or
distribute any unsold balance of such property in accordance with the provisions
of this Deposit Agreement.
34
Section
4.3. Distribution of Rights to
Purchase Additional ADSs.
4.3.1. Distribution to ADS
Holders. Subject always to the laws and regulations of the ROC, whenever
the Company intends to distribute to the holders of the Deposited Securities
rights to subscribe for additional Eligible Securities, the Company shall give
timely notice thereof to the Depositary stating whether or not it wishes such
rights to be made available to Holders of ADSs. Upon receipt of a
notice indicating that the Company wishes such rights to be made available to
Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall consult with the Company to determine, and
the Company shall assist the Depositary in its determination, whether it is
lawful and reasonably practicable to make such rights available to the
Holders. The Depositary shall make such rights available to Holders
only if (i) the Company shall have requested that such rights be made
available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory
documentation within the terms of Section 5.7, and (iii) the Depositary
shall have determined that such distribution of rights is reasonably
practicable. In the event any of the conditions set forth above are
not satisfied, the Depositary shall proceed with the sale of the rights as
contemplated in Section 4.3.2 below. In the event all conditions
set forth above are satisfied, the Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date
(upon the terms described in Section 4.8) and establish procedures to
distribute rights to purchase additional ADSs (by means of warrants or
otherwise) and to enable the Holders to exercise such rights (upon payment of
applicable (a) fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred by,
the Depositary and (b) taxes). The Company shall assist the
Depositary to the extent necessary in establishing such
procedures. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to make
available to the Holders a method to exercise rights to subscribe for Eligible
Securities (rather than ADSs).
4.3.2. Sale of
Rights. If (i) the Company does not request the
Depositary to make the rights available to Holders or requests that the rights
not be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary fails to receive
satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 or determines it
is not reasonably practicable to make the rights available to Holders, or
(iii) any rights made available are not exercised and appear to be about to
lapse, the Depositary shall determine whether it is lawful and reasonably
practicable to sell such rights, in a riskless principal capacity, at such place
and upon such terms (including public or private sale) as it may deem
practical. The Company shall assist the Depositary to the extent
necessary to determine such legality and practicability. The
Depositary shall, upon such sale, convert and distribute proceeds of such sale
(net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses
incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) upon the terms set forth in
Section 4.1.
35
4.3.3. Lapse of
Rights. If the Depositary is unable to make any rights
available to Holders upon the terms described in Section 4.3.1 or to
arrange for the sale of the rights upon the terms described in
Section 4.3.2, the Depositary shall allow such rights to
lapse.
The
Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that
it may be lawful or practicable to make such rights available to Holders in
general or any Holders in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or
loss incurred in connection with such sale, or exercise, or (iii) the
content of any materials forwarded to the Holders on behalf of the Company in
connection with the rights distribution.
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in this Section 4.3, if registration (under the
Securities Act or any other applicable law) of the rights or the securities to
which any rights relate may be required in order for the Company to offer such
rights or such securities to Holders and to sell the securities represented by
such rights, the Depositary will not distribute such rights to the Holders
unless and until a registration statement under the Securities Act (or other
applicable law) covering such offering is in effect. In the event
that the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian shall be required to withhold
and does withhold from any distribution of property (including rights) an amount
on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount distributed to the
Holders of American Depositary Shares representing such Deposited Securities
shall be reduced accordingly. In the event that the Depositary
determines that any distribution in property (including Eligible Securities and
rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to any tax or other governmental
charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, the Depositary may
dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Eligible Securities and
rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner, including by
public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and practicable to pay
any such taxes or charges. Because ROC law presently does not
contemplate the issuance of rights in negotiable form and the possibility of
such issuance is unlikely, a liquid market for rights may not exist, and this
may adversely affect (1) the ability of the Depositary to dispose of such rights
or (2) the amount the Depositary would realize upon disposal of
rights.
36
There can
be no assurance that Holders generally, or any Holder in particular, will be
given the opportunity to receive or exercise rights on the same terms and
conditions as the holders of Deposited Securities or be able to exercise such
rights. Nothing herein shall obligate the Company to file any
registration statement in respect of any rights or Eligible Securities or other
securities to be acquired upon the exercise of such rights.
Section
4.4. Distributions Other Than
Cash, Eligible Securities or Rights to Purchase Eligible
Securities.
(a) Whenever
the Company intends to distribute to the holders of Deposited Securities
property other than cash, Eligible Securities or rights to purchase additional
Eligible Securities, the Company shall give timely notice thereof to the
Depositary and shall indicate whether or not it wishes such distribution to be
made to Holders of ADSs. Upon receipt of a notice indicating that the
Company wishes such distribution be made to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary
shall consult with the Company, and the Company shall assist the Depositary, to
determine whether such distribution to Holders is lawful and reasonably
practicable. The Depositary shall not make such distribution unless
(i) the Company shall have requested the Depositary to make such
distribution to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received
satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7, and
(iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is
reasonably practicable.
(b) Upon
receipt of satisfactory documentation and the request of the Company to
distribute property to Holders of ADSs and after making the requisite
determinations set forth in (a) above, the Depositary shall distribute the
property so received to the Holders of record, as of the ADS Record Date, in
proportion to the number of ADSs held by them respectively and in such manner as
the Depositary may deem practicable for accomplishing such distribution
(i) upon receipt of payment or net of the applicable fees and charges of,
and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (ii) net of any taxes
withheld. The Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of the
property so distributed and deposited, in such amounts and in such manner
(including by public or private sale) as the Depositary may deem practicable or
necessary to satisfy any taxes (including applicable interest and penalties) or
other governmental charges applicable to the distribution.
37
(c) If
(i) the Company does not request the Depositary to make such distribution
to Holders or requests the Depositary not to make such distribution to Holders,
(ii) the Depositary does not receive satisfactory documentation within the
terms of Section 5.7, or (iii) the Depositary determines that all or a
portion of such distribution is not reasonably practicable, the Depositary shall
sell or cause such property to be sold in a public or private sale, at such
place or places and upon such terms as it may deem practicable and shall
(i) cause the proceeds of such sale, if any, to be converted into Dollars
and (ii) distribute the proceeds of such conversion received by the
Depositary (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and expenses
incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) to the Holders as of the ADS
Record Date upon the terms of Section 4.1. If the Depositary is
unable to sell such property, the Depositary may dispose of such property in any
way it deems reasonably practicable under the circumstances.
Section
4.5. Distributions with Respect
to Deposited Securities in Bearer Form. Subject always to the laws
and regulations of the ROC and to the terms of this Article IV, distributions in
respect of Deposited Securities that are held by the Depositary in bearer form
shall be made to the Depositary for the account of the respective Holders of
Receipts with respect to which any such distribution is made upon due
presentation by the Depositary or the Custodian to the Company of any relevant
coupons, talons, or certificates. The Company shall promptly notify
the Depositary of such distributions. The Depositary or the Custodian
shall promptly present such coupons, talons or certificates, as the case may be,
in connection with any such distribution.
Section
4.6. Redemption. If
the Company intends to exercise any right of redemption in respect of any of the
Deposited Securities, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at
least 60 days prior to the intended date of redemption which notice shall set
forth the particulars of the proposed redemption. Upon receipt of
such (i) notice and (ii) satisfactory documentation given by the Company to the
Depositary within the terms of Section 5.7, and only if the Depositary shall
have determined that such proposed redemption is practicable, the Depositary
shall mail to each Holder a notice setting forth the intended exercise by the
Company of the redemption rights and any other particulars set forth in the
Company's notice to the Depositary. The Depositary shall instruct the
Custodian to present to the Company the Deposited Securities in respect of which
redemption rights are being exercised against payment of the applicable
redemption price. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian
that the redemption has taken place and that funds representing the redemption
price have been received, the Depositary shall convert, transfer, and distribute
the proceeds (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and the reasonable
expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (b) taxes), retire ADSs and cancel
ADRs upon delivery of such ADSs by Holders thereof and the terms set forth in
Sections 4.1 and 6.2 hereof. If less than all outstanding Deposited
Securities are redeemed, the ADSs to be retired will be selected by lot or on a
pro rata basis, as may be determined by the Depositary. The
redemption price per ADS shall be the per share amount received by the
Depositary upon the redemption of the Deposited Securities represented by
American Depositary Shares (subject to the terms of Section 4.7 hereof and the
applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and
taxes) multiplied by the number of Deposited Securities represented by each ADS
redeemed.
38
Section
4.7. Conversion of Foreign
Currency. Subject to any restrictions imposed by ROC law and
regulations, including, without limitation, receipt of foreign exchange approval
from the Central Bank of China for conversion of funds from and/or into NT
dollars, whenever the Depositary or the Custodian shall receive Foreign
Currency, by way of dividends or other distributions or the net proceeds from
the sale of securities, property or rights, which in the judgment of the
Depositary can at such time be converted on a practicable basis, by sale or in
any other manner that it may determine in accordance with applicable law, into
Dollars transferable to the United States and distributable to the Holders
entitled thereto, the Depositary shall convert or cause to be converted, by sale
or in any other manner that it may determine, such Foreign Currency into
Dollars, and shall distribute such Dollars (net of any applicable fees, any
reasonable and customary expenses incurred in such conversion and any expenses
incurred on behalf of the Holders in complying with currency exchange control or
other governmental or regulatory requirements) in accordance with the terms of
the applicable sections of this Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary
shall have distributed warrants or other instruments that entitle the holders
thereof to such Dollars, the Depositary shall distribute such Dollars to the
holders of such warrants and/or instruments upon surrender thereof for
cancellation, in either case without liability for interest
thereon. Such distribution may be made upon an averaged or other
practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among Holders on account of
any application of exchange restrictions or otherwise.
39
If such
conversion or distribution generally or with regard to a particular Holder can
be effected only with the approval or license of any government or agency
thereof, the Depositary shall have authority to file such application for
approval or license, if any, as it may deem desirable. In no event,
however, shall the Depositary be obligated to make such a filing.
If at any
time the Depositary shall determine that in its judgment the conversion of any
Foreign Currency and the transfer and distribution of proceeds of such
conversion received by the Depositary is not practical or lawful, or if any
approval or license of any governmental authority or agency thereof that is
required for such conversion, transfer and distribution is denied or, in the
opinion of the Depositary, not obtainable at a reasonable cost or within a
reasonable period, the Depositary may, in its discretion, (i) make such
conversion and distribution in Dollars to the Holders for whom such conversion,
transfer and distribution is lawful and practicable, (ii) distribute the
Foreign Currency (or an appropriate document evidencing the right to receive
such Foreign Currency) to Holders for whom this is lawful and practicable or
(iii) hold (or cause the Custodian to hold) such Foreign Currency (without
liability for interest thereon) for the respective accounts of the Holders
entitled to receive the same.
Section
4.8. Fixing of ADS Record
Date. Whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of the fixing of
a record date by the Company for the determination of holders of Deposited
Securities entitled to receive any distribution (whether in cash, Eligible
Securities, rights, or other distribution), or whenever for any reason the
Depositary causes a change in the number of Eligible Securities that are
represented by each American Depositary Share, or whenever the Depositary shall
receive notice of any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or of
instructions, of holders of Deposited Securities, or whenever the Depositary
shall find it necessary or convenient in connection with the giving of any
notice, solicitation of any consent or any other matter, the Depositary shall
fix a record date (the "ADS Record Date") for the determination of the Holders
of Receipts who shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give
instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting, to give or
withhold such consent, to receive such notice or solicitation or to otherwise
take action, or to exercise the rights of Holders with respect to such changed
number of Eligible Securities represented by each American Depositary
Share. The Depositary shall make reasonable efforts to establish the
ADS Record Date as closely as possible to the applicable record date for the
Deposited Securities (if any). Subject to applicable law and the
provisions of Section 4.1 through 4.7 and to the other terms and conditions
of this Deposit Agreement, only the Holders of Receipts at the close of business
in New York on such ADS Record Date shall be entitled to receive such
distribution, to give such voting instructions, to receive such notice or
solicitation, or otherwise take action.
40
Section
4.9. Voting of Deposited
Securities.
(a) Voting by ADS
Holders. Holders of ADSs have no individual voting rights with respect to
the Deposited Securities represented by their ADSs. Each Holder shall
be deemed, by acceptance of ADSs or acquisition of any beneficial interest
therein, to have authorized and directed the Depositary, without liability, to
appoint the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company (or his/her
designate) (the "Voting Representative"), as representative of the Depositary,
the Custodian or the nominee who is registered in the ROC as representative of
the Holders in respect of the Deposited Securities (the "Registered Holder"), to
vote the Shares or other Deposited Securities in accordance with the terms
hereof.
The
Company agrees to timely notify the Depositary of any proposed shareholders'
meeting and to provide to the Depositary in New York, at least 24 calendar days
before any shareholders' meeting, sufficient copies as the Depositary may
reasonably request of English language translations of the Company's notice of
shareholders' meeting and the agenda of the materials to be voted on (in the
form the Company generally makes available to holders of Shares in the ROC),
including, without limitation, a list of candidates proposed by the Company for
an election of directors or supervisors (such materials collectively, the
"Shareholder Notice"). As soon as practicable after receipt by the
Depositary of the requisite number of Shareholder Notices, the Depositary shall
establish the ADS Record Date (upon the terms of Section 4.8 hereof) and shall,
at the Company's expense and, provided no U.S. legal prohibitions exist, deliver
to Holders as of the applicable ADS Record Date, (i) the Shareholder
Notice, (ii) a depositary notice setting forth the manner in which Holders
of ADSs may instruct the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities
represented by their ADSs to be voted under the terms of this Deposit Agreement
including, a description of the Management Instruction (as defined below),
together with a form of voting instructions and/or other means to provide voting
instructions (the depositary notice and the related materials prepared by the
Depositary collectively, the "Depositary Notice"). The Depositary is
under no obligation to deliver the Shareholder Notice and the Depositary Notice
to Holders if the Company has failed to provide to the Depositary in New York
the requisite number of Shareholder Notices at least 24 calendar days prior to
the date of any shareholders' meeting. If the Depositary has not
delivered the Shareholder Notice or Depositary Notice to Holders, it will
endeavor to cause all Deposited Securities represented by ADRs to be present at
the relevant shareholders' meeting insofar as practicable and permitted under
applicable law but will not cause the Shares or other Deposited Securities to be
voted; provided, however, that the Depositary may determine, at its sole
discretion, to send such Shareholder Notice and Depositary Notice to Holders
and/or cause the Shares or other Deposited Securities to be voted as it deems
appropriate. There can be no assurance that Holders generally or any
Holder in particular will receive Shareholder Notices and Depositary Notices
with sufficient time to enable the return of voting instructions to the
Depositary in a timely manner.
41
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall not have
any obligation to take any action with respect to any meeting, or solicitation
of consents or instructions, of holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities
if the taking of such action would violate U.S. laws.
(b) Voting of Deposited
Securities Upon ADS Holders' Instructions. If Holders of ADSs together
holding at least 51% of all the ADSs (including Temporary ADSs) outstanding as
of the relevant ADS Record Date shall instruct the Depositary, prior to the date
established for such purpose by the Depositary, to vote in the same manner in
respect of one or more resolutions to be proposed at a shareholders' meeting
(including resolutions for the election directors and/or supervisors), the
Depositary shall notify to and appoint the Voting Representative as the
representative of the Depositary and the Registered Holder to attend such
shareholders' meeting and vote all Deposited Securities evidenced by ADSs then
outstanding (including Temporary ADSs) in the manner so instructed by such
Holders. If voting instructions are received by the Depositary on or
before the date established by the Depositary for the receipt of such
instructions from any Holder as of the ADS Record Date, which are signed but
without further indication as to voting instructions, the Depositary shall deem
such Holder to have instructed a vote in favor of the items set forth in such
instructions. The Depositary and Custodian shall not have any
obligation to monitor, and shall not incur any liability for, the actions, or
the failure to act, of the Voting Representative as representative of the
Registered Holder.
42
(c) Management
Instruction. If, for any reason (other than a failure by the
Company to supply the requisite number of Shareholder Notices to the Depositary
within the requisite time period provided in this Section 4.9, the Depositary
has not, prior to the date established for such purpose by the Depositary
received instructions from Holders together holding at least 51% of all ADSs
(including Temporary ADSs) outstanding at the relevant ADS Record Date, to vote
in the same manner in respect of any resolution (including resolutions for the
election of directors and/or supervisors), then, subject to the following
paragraph, the Holders shall be deemed to have authorized and directed the
Depositary to give a discretionary instruction (a "Management Instruction") to
the Voting Representative as the representative of the Registered Holder to
attend and vote at such meeting all the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs
then outstanding (including Temporary ADSs) in his or her
discretion. In such circumstances, the Voting Representative shall be
free to exercise the votes attaching to the Deposited Securities in any manner
he or she wishes, which may not be in the interests of the Holders.
The
Depositary's grant of a Management Instruction in the manner and circumstances
described in the preceding paragraph shall be subject to the receipt by the
Depositary prior to each shareholders' meeting of an opinion of ROC counsel of
the Company addressed to, and in form and substance satisfactory to, the
Depositary to the effect that under ROC law (i) the arrangements relating
to the Management Instruction are permissible, and (ii) the Depositary will
not be deemed to be authorized to exercise any discretion when causing the
voting in accordance with this Section 4.9 and will not be subject to any
potential liability under ROC law for losses arising from such
voting. In the event the Depositary does not receive such opinion,
the Depositary will not grant the Management Instruction but will cause the
Deposited Securities to be present at the shareholders' meeting to the extent
practicable and permitted by applicable law but will not cause the Deposited
Securities to be voted or the Management Instruction to be granted.
The
Depositary shall not, and the Depositary shall ensure that the Custodian and its
nominees do not, vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches to
the Shares or other Deposited Securities, other than in accordance with
instructions given in accordance with this Section 4.9. The terms of
this Section 4.9 may be amended from time to time in accordance with the terms
of this Deposit Agreement. By continuing to hold ADSs after the
effective time of such amendment all Holders and Beneficial Owners shall be
deemed to have agreed to the terms of this Section 4.9 as so
amended.
43
(d) There
is no guarantee that Holders generally or any Holder in particular will receive
the notice described above with sufficient time to enable such Holder to return
any voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner.
Section
4.10. Changes Affecting Deposited
Securities. Upon any change in nominal or par value, split-up,
cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of Deposited
Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger or
consolidation or sale of assets affecting the Company or to which it is a party,
any securities which shall be received by the Depositary or the Custodian in
exchange for, or in conversion of or replacement of or otherwise in respect of,
such Deposited Securities shall, to the extent permitted by law, be treated as
new Deposited Securities under this Deposit Agreement, and the Receipts shall,
subject to the provisions of this Deposit Agreement and applicable law, evidence
American Depositary Shares representing the right to receive such additional or
replacement securities, as applicable. The Depositary may, after
consultation with the Company, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and
receipt of an opinion of counsel to the Company provided pursuant to Section 5.7
hereof and satisfactory to the Depositary that such distributions are not in
violation of any applicable laws or regulations, execute and deliver additional
Receipts as in the case of a dividend of Eligible Securities, or call for the
surrender of outstanding Receipts to be exchanged for new Receipts, in either
case, as well as in the event of newly deposited Shares, with necessary
modifications to the form of Receipt contained in Exhibit A hereto, specifically
describing such new Deposited Securities or corporate change. The
Company agrees to, jointly with the Depositary, amend the Registration Statement
on Form F-6 as filed with the Commission to permit the issuance of such new
form of Receipts. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event that any security
so received may not be lawfully distributed to some or all Holders, the
Depositary may, after consultation with the Company, subject to receipt of an
opinion of Company's counsel satisfactory to the Depositary that such action is
not in violation of any applicable laws or regulations, sell such securities at
public or private sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may
deem proper and may allocate the net proceeds of such sales (net of (a) fees and
charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes)
for the account of the Holders otherwise entitled to such securities upon an
averaged or other practicable basis without regard to any distinctions among
such Holders and distribute the net proceeds so allocated to the extent
practicable as in the case of a distribution received in cash pursuant to
Section 4.1. The Depositary shall not be responsible for
(i) any failure to determine that it may be lawful or feasible to make such
securities available to Holders in general or to any Holder in particular,
(ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred in connection with such
sale, or (iii) any liability to the purchaser of such securities.
44
Section
4.11. Available
Information. The Company is subject to the periodic reporting
requirements of the Exchange Act and accordingly files certain information with
the Commission. These reports and documents can be inspected and
copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the Commission located
at 000 X Xxxxxx, XX, Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000.
Section
4.12. Reports. The
Depositary shall make available for inspection by Holders at its Principal
Office any reports and communications, including any instruction soliciting
materials, received from the Company which are both (a) received by the
Depositary, the Custodian, or the nominee of either of them as the holder of the
Deposited Securities and (b) made generally available to the holders of
such Deposited Securities by the Company. The Depositary shall also
mail to Holders copies of such reports when furnished by the Company pursuant to
Section 5.6.
Section
4.13. List of
Holders. Promptly upon written request by the Company, the
Depositary shall furnish to it a list, as of a recent date, of the names,
addresses and holdings of American Depositary Shares of all
Holders.
Section
4.14. Taxation. The
Depositary will, and will instruct the Custodian to, forward to the Company or
its agents such information from its records as the Company may reasonably
request to enable the Company or its agents to file the necessary tax reports
with governmental authorities or agencies. The Depositary, the
Custodian or the Company and its agents may file such reports as are necessary
to reduce or eliminate applicable taxes on dividends and on other distributions
in respect of Deposited Securities under applicable tax treaties or laws for the
Holders and Beneficial Owners. In accordance with instructions from
the Company and to the extent practicable, the Depositary or the Custodian will
take reasonable administrative actions to obtain tax refunds, reduced
withholding of tax at source on dividends and other benefits under applicable
tax treaties or laws with respect to dividends and other distributions on the
Deposited Securities. Holders and Beneficial Owners of American
Depositary Shares may be required from time to time, and in a timely manner, to
file such proof of taxpayer status, residence and beneficial ownership (as
applicable), to execute such certificates and to make such representations and
warranties, or to provide any other information or documents, as the Depositary
or the Custodian may deem necessary or proper to fulfill the Depositary's or the
Custodian's obligations under applicable law. The Holders and
Beneficial Owners may be asked to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the
Custodian and any of their respective directors, employees, agents and
Affiliates against, and hold each of them harmless from, any claims by any
governmental authority with respect to taxes, additions to tax, penalties or
interest arising out of the inaccuracy of any information provided by such
Holder and/or Beneficial Owner in order to obtain any refund of taxes, reduced
rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit on behalf of such Holder
and/or Beneficial Owner.
45
If the
Company (or any of its agents) withholds from any distribution any amount on
account of taxes or governmental charges, or pays any other tax in respect of
such distribution (i.e. stamp duty tax, capital gains or other similar tax), the
Company shall (and shall cause such agent to) remit promptly to the Depositary
information about such taxes or governmental charges withheld or paid, and, if
so requested, the tax receipt (or other proof of payment to the applicable
governmental authority) therefor, in each case, in a form reasonably
satisfactory to the Depositary. The Depositary shall, to the extent
required by U.S. law, report to Holders any taxes withheld by it or the
Custodian, and, if such information is provided to it by the Company, any taxes
withheld by the Company. The Depositary and the Custodian shall not
be required to provide the Holders with any evidence of the remittance by the
Company (or its agents) of any taxes withheld, or of the payment of taxes by the
Company, except to the extent the evidence is provided by the Company to the
Depositary.
The
Depositary is under no obligation to provide the Holders and Beneficial Owners
with any information about the tax status of the Company. The
Depositary shall not incur any liability for any tax consequences that may be
incurred by Holders and Beneficial Owners on account of their ownership of the
American Depositary Shares, including without limitation, tax consequences
resulting from the Company (or any of its subsidiaries) being treated as a
"Foreign Personal Holding Company," or as a "Passive Foreign Investment Company"
(in each case as defined in the U.S. Internal Revenue Code and the regulations
issued thereunder) or otherwise.
46
Section
4.15 Right to Submit Proposals at
Annual Ordinary Meeting of Shareholders.
(a) Proposals
by Shareholders. The Company has informed the Depositary that under
ROC Company Law, as in effect as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, holders
of one percent (1%) or more of the total issued and outstanding Shares
(including the treasury Shares) of the Company as of the applicable record date
for determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at an annual ordinary
meeting of the Company's shareholders (the "Shareholder Proposal Record Date"),
are entitled to submit one (1) written proposal (the "Proposal") each year for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders,
provided that: (i) the Proposal is in the traditional Chinese language and does
not exceed 300 traditional Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the
Proposal, all accompanying supporting statements and all punctuation marks) in
length, (ii) the Proposal is submitted to the Company during the period for
submission of Proposals (the "Submission Period") announced by the Company (it
being agreed by the Company that the Company shall announce publicly each year
the Submission Period and the place for eligible shareholders to submit the
Proposal in a report on Form 6-K submitted to the Commission prior to the
commencement of the 60 days closed period prior to the annual ordinary meeting
of the Company's shareholders), (iii) only one (1) matter for consideration at
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders shall be allowed in
each Proposal, and (iv) the proposing shareholder shall attend, in person or by
a proxy, such annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders whereat his
or her or its Proposal is to be discussed in the Chinese language and such
proposing shareholder, or his or her or its proxy, shall take part in the
discussion of such Proposal in the Chinese language. For the avoidance of doubt,
shareholders shall have no right to nominate candidates for election as
directors at a meeting of the Company's shareholders pursuant to the Articles of
Incorporation of the Company, as in effect on the date hereof. As the holder of
the Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee is entitled, provided
the conditions of ROC law are satisfied, to submit only one (1) Proposal each
year in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the applicable
Shareholder Proposal Record Date. Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not
under ROC law have individual rights to submit Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders but
may be able to submit Proposals to the Company for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders if the Beneficial Owners (i)
timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for cancellation pursuant to the
terms of the Deposit Agreement and become holders of Shares in the ROC prior to
the expiration of the Submission Period and prior to the applicable Shareholder
Proposal Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy the conditions of ROC law
applicable to the submission of Proposals to the Company for consideration at an
annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders. Beneficial Owners of ADSs
may not receive sufficient advance notice of an annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders to enable the timely withdrawal of Shares to make a
Proposal to the Company and may not be able to re-deposit under the Deposit
Agreement the Shares so withdrawn. The Company has informed the Depositary that
a Proposal shall only be voted upon at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders if the Proposal is accepted by the board of directors of
the Company as eligible in accordance with Article 172-1 of the ROC Company Law
and the Company's Articles of Incorporation for consideration at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders. In addition, the Company has no
obligation to give notice of noncompliance and/or opportunity to cure for any
Proposal which fails to satisfy the requirements and conditions of the ROC
laws.
47
(b) Single
Proposal by Depositary or its Nominee on behalf of Beneficial
Owners. Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual
proposal rights. The Depositary will, if so requested by Beneficial Owner(s) as
of the applicable ADS Record Date that own(s), individually or as a group, at
least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (such
Beneficial Owner(s), the "Submitting Holder(s)"), submit to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders one
(1) Proposal each year, provided that: (i) the Proposal submitted to the
Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s) is in the traditional Chinese language or
in English along with traditional Chinese translation and does not exceed 300
traditional Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal, all
accompanying supporting statements, and all punctuation marks) in length and in
the case of English proposal, the length and the content of the proposal shall
be determined based on the Chinese translation, (ii) the Proposal is submitted
to the Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s) at least two (2) Business Days
prior to the expiration of the Submission Period, (iii) the Proposal is
accompanied by a
48
written
certificate signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the Depositary and
the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the
"First Proposal Certificate"), certifying, inter alia, (w) that each Submitting
Holder has only certified the said Proposal, (x) that the Submitting Holder(s)
own(s), individually or in the aggregate, at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding
as of the date the Proposal is submitted by the Submitting Holder(s) to the
Depositary (the "Proposal Submission Date"), (y) if the Proposal Submission Date
is (i) on or after the applicable ADS Record Date, that the Submitting Holder(s)
owned at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date,
and (ii) prior to the applicable ADS Record Date, that the Submitting Holder(s)
will continue to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable
ADS Record Date and will provide the Second Proposal Certificate, as defined
below, and (z) the name(s) and address(es) of the Submitting Holder(s) and the
number of ADSs owned by each Submitting Holder (together with certified evidence
of each Submitting Holder's ownership of the applicable ADSs as of the Proposal
Submission Date, in the case of (y)(ii) above, and the applicable ADS Record
Date, in the case of (y)(i) above), (iv) if the Proposal Submission Date is
prior to the applicable ADS Record Date, the Submitting Holder(s) must also
provide, within five (5) Business Days after the applicable ADS Record Date, a
second written certificate signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the
Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and the
Company (the "Second Proposal Certificate"), certifying, inter alia, that the
Submitting(s) continued to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the
applicable ADS Record Date (together with certified evidence of each Submitting
Holder's ownership of the applicable ADSs as of such applicable ADS Record
Date), (v) the Proposal is accompanied by a joint and several irrevocable
undertaking of all Submitting Holders (which undertaking may be contained in the
First Proposal Certificate or the Second Proposal Certificate) that each such
Submitting Holder shall pay all fees and expenses incurred in relation to the
submission of the Proposal for voting at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders (including, but not limited to, the costs and expenses of
the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, to attend
the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders), (vi) the Shares
registered in the name of the Depositary or its nominee as representative of the
Holders and Beneficial Owners constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total
issued and outstanding Shares (including the treasury Shares) of the Company as
of the Shareholder Proposal Record Date, (vii) such Proposal contains only one
(1) matter for consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders, and (viii) the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their
representative, attend(s) the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders and take(s) part in the discussions of the Proposal in the Chinese
language, provided further that only one (1) individual may attend, and take
part in the discussion of the Proposal at such annual ordinary meeting on behalf
of all Submitting Holders. Each Beneficial Owner hereby agrees and acknowledges
that (i) if the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative,
does not attend the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders, the
chairman of such meeting may ask the attending shareholders to discuss, the
Proposal, and (ii) in no event shall the Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its
or their representative's, presence at an annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders entitle such Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or
their representative, to vote the Shares represented by such Submitting Holder's
ADSs (or any other ADSs) or to vote the Shares represented by all the
outstanding ADSs at such annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders.
49
Upon the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Proposal which the Depositary reasonably
believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding paragraph, the
Depositary shall submit a copy of such Proposal and of the other materials
received from the Submitting Holder(s) to the Company during the Submission
Period. Any Proposal so submitted as to which the Depositary has not received
within five (5) Business Days after the applicable ADS Record Date any Second
Proposal Certificate required under the immediately preceding paragraph shall be
deemed irrevocably withdrawn at the expiration of such five (5) Business Day
period. In the event the Depositary receives more than one (1) Proposal by a
Submitting Holder, or a group of Submitting Holders, each of which appears to
satisfy the requirements set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, the
Depositary is hereby authorized and instructed to disregard all Proposals,
except for the first Proposal, received by the Depositary from such Submitting
Holder(s) and shall submit only the first of such Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders in
accordance with the terms hereof. The Depositary shall not have any obligation
to verify the accuracy of the information contained in any document submitted to
it by the Submitting Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor its nominee shall be
obligated to attend and speak at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders on behalf of the Submitting Holder(s). The Proposal submitted by
the Depositary is still subject to review by the board of directors of the
Company and there is no assurance that the Proposal will be accepted by the
board of directors and will be included in the agenda of the ordinary
shareholders' meeting. In addition, if the Company determines that, at the
discretion of the Company, the Proposal submitted by the Depositary does not
qualify, the Company has no obligation to notify the Depositary or to allow the
Depositary to modify such Proposal.
50
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the proposal rights, including, without limitation, notice of the
Submission Period, or the receipt of any Proposal(s) from Submitting Holders, or
of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons."
ARTICLE
5.
THE
DEPOSITARY, THE CUSTODIAN AND THE COMPANY
Section
5.1. Maintenance of Office and
Transfer Books by the Registrar. Until termination of this Deposit
Agreement in accordance with its terms, the Registrar shall maintain in the
Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York, an office and facilities for the
execution and delivery, registration, registration of issuances, of transfers,
combination and split-up of Receipts, the surrender of Receipts for the purpose
of withdrawal of Deposited Securities in accordance with the provisions of this
Deposit Agreement.
The
Registrar shall keep books for the registration of issuances and transfers of
Receipts which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the
Company and by the Holders of such Receipts, provided that such inspection shall
not be, to the Registrar's knowledge, for the purpose of communicating with
Holders of such Receipts in the interest of a business or object other than the
business of the Company or other than a matter related to this Deposit Agreement
or the Receipts.
51
The
Registrar may close the transfer books with respect to the Receipts, at any time
or from time to time, when deemed necessary or advisable by it in good faith in
connection with the performance of its duties hereunder, in all cases, to
Section 7.8 hereof.
If any
Receipts or the American Depositary Shares evidenced thereby are listed on one
or more stock exchanges or automated quotation systems in the United States, the
Depositary shall act as Registrar or appoint a Registrar or one or more
co-registrars for registration of Receipts and transfers, combinations and
split-ups, and to countersign such Receipts in accordance with any requirements
of such exchanges or systems. Such Registrar or co-registrars may be
removed and a substitute or substitutes appointed by the
Depositary.
Section
5.2. Exoneration.
Neither the Depositary nor the Company, or any of their respective agents, shall
be obligated to do or perform any act which is inconsistent with the provisions
of the Deposit Agreement or incur any liability (i) if the Depositary, the
Company or any of their respective agents shall be prevented or forbidden from,
or delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the
Deposit Agreement, by reason of any provision of any present or future law,
rule, regulation, fiat, order or decree of the United States, the ROC or any
other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory authority or
stock exchange or market or automated quotation system, or on account of the
possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason of any
provision, present or future of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company or
any provision of or governing any Deposited Securities, or by reason of any act
of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control (including, without
limitation, nationalization, expropriation, terrorism, currency restrictions,
work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions and
computer failure), (ii) by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise,
any discretion provided for in the Deposit Agreement or in the Articles of
Incorporation of the Company or provisions of or governing Deposited Securities,
(iii) for any action or inaction in reliance upon the advice of or information
from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any
Holder, any Beneficial Owner or authorized representative thereof, or any other
person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or
information, or (iv) for the inability by a Holder or Beneficial Owner to
benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit which is made
available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of the
Deposit Agreement, made available to Holders of American Depositary Shares or
(v) for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages (including,
without limitation, lost profits) of any form incurred by any person or entity,
whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a
claim may be brought. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary set forth in the
Deposit Agreement or an American Depositary Receipt, the Depositary and its
agents may fully respond to any and all demands or requests for information
maintained by or on its behalf in connection with the Deposit Agreement, any
Holder or Holders, any Receipt or Receipts or otherwise related hereto or
thereto to the extent such information is requested or required by or pursuant
to any lawful authority, including without limitation laws, rules, regulations,
administrative or judicial process, banking, securities or other
regulators. None of the Depositary, the Custodian or the Company
shall be liable for the failure by any Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the
benefits of credits on the basis of non-U.S. tax paid against such Holder's or
Beneficial Owner's income tax liability. The Depositary and the Company shall
not incur any liability for any tax consequences that may be incurred by Holders
and beneficial owners on account of their ownership of the Receipts or
ADSs.
52
The
Depositary, its controlling persons, its agents, any Custodian and the Company,
its controlling persons and its agents may rely and shall be protected in acting
upon any written notice, request or other document believed by it to be genuine
and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or
parties.
The
Depositary shall be under no obligation to inform Holders or any other holders
of an interest in any Receipt about the requirements of ROC law or any changes
therein or thereto.
No
disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of
this Deposit Agreement.
Section
5.3. Standard of
Care. The Company and its agents assume no obligation and shall not
be subject to any liability under this Deposit Agreement or the Receipts to
Holders or Beneficial Owners or other persons, except that the Company and its
agents agree to perform their obligations specifically set forth in this Deposit
Agreement without gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
53
The
Depositary and its agents assume no obligation and shall not be subject to any
liability under this Deposit Agreement or the Receipts to Holders or Beneficial
Owners or other persons, except that the Depositary and its agents agree to
perform their obligations specifically set forth in this Deposit Agreement
without gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Without
limitation of the foregoing, (a) neither the Company, nor any of its controlling
persons, or agents, shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or
defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited
Securities or in respect of the Receipts, which in its opinion may involve it in
expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense
(including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be furnished as
often as may be required, and (b) neither the Depositary nor any of its
controlling persons, or agents (and no Custodian shall be under any obligation
whatsoever with respect to such proceedings, the responsibility of the Custodian
being solely to the Depositary), shall be made a party to or under any
obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other
proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities or in respect of the
Receipts.
The
Depositary and its agents shall not be liable for any failure to carry out any
instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, for the manner in which
any vote is cast (provided that any such act or omission is in good faith) or
for the effect of any vote. The Depositary shall not incur any
liability for any failure to determine that any distribution or action may be
lawful or reasonably practicable, for the content of any information submitted
to it by the Company for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of
any translation thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an
interest in the Deposited Securities, for the validity or worth of the Deposited
Securities or for any tax consequences that may result from the ownership of
ADSs, Shares or Deposited Securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third
party, for allowing any rights to lapse upon the terms of this Deposit Agreement
or for the failure or timeliness of any notice from the Company or for the
failure of the Company to exchange any Certificate of Payment into Shares. The
Depositary shall not be responsible for any failure to determine that it may be
lawful or feasible to make Rights available to Holders in general or to any
Holder in particular or be liable or responsible for the manner in which any
purchase or sale of Shares occurs or the price paid or received
therefore. The Depositary shall not be liable for the acts or
omissions made by any securities depository, clearing agency or settlement
system in connection with or arising out of book-entry settlement of Deposited
Securities or otherwise. The Depositary shall not be
responsible for, and shall incur no liability in connection with or arising
from, the insolvency of any Custodian that is not a branch or affiliate of
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. or for the failure of the Company to exchange any
Certificate of Payment into Shares. The Depositary shall not be
obligated in any way to monitor or enforce the obligations of the Company,
including, without limitation, in respect of any Certificate of Payment, the
conversion of such Certificate of Payment into Shares.
54
Section
5.4. Resignation and Removal of
the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary. The Depositary
may at any time resign as Depositary hereunder by written notice of resignation
delivered to the Company, such resignation to be effective on the earlier of (i)
the 60th day after delivery thereof to the Company (whereupon the Depositary
shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 hereof), or
(ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its
acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided. The
Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written notice of such
removal, which removal shall be effective on the earlier of (i) the 60th day
after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary shall be
entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 hereof), or (ii) upon
the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its acceptance of
such appointment as hereinafter provided.
The
Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written notice of such
removal, which removal shall be effective on the earlier of (i) the 60th
day after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary shall be
entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 hereof), or
(ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a successor depositary and its
acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter provided.
In case
at any time the Depositary acting hereunder shall resign or be removed, the
Company shall use its best efforts to appoint a successor depositary, which
shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the Borough of Manhattan,
The City of New York. Every successor depositary shall be required by
the Company to execute and deliver to its immediate predecessor and to the
Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment hereunder, and
thereupon such successor depositary, without any further act or deed (except as
required by applicable law), shall become fully vested with all the rights,
powers, duties and obligations of its immediate predecessor (other than as
contemplated in Section 5.8 and 5.9). The immediate predecessor
depositary, upon payment of all sums due it and on the written request of the
Company shall, (i) execute and deliver an instrument transferring to such
successor all rights and powers of such predecessor hereunder (other than as
contemplated in Sections 5.8 and 5.9), (ii) duly assign, transfer and
deliver all right, title and interest to the Deposited Securities to such
successor, and (iii) deliver to such successor a list of the Holders of all
outstanding Receipts and such other information relating to Receipts and Holders
thereof as the successor may reasonably request. Any such successor
depositary shall promptly mail notice of its appointment to such
Holders.
55
Any
corporation into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated
shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any
document or any further act.
Section
5.5. The Custodian.
The Depositary has initially appointed JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Taipei Branch
as Custodian for the purpose of this Deposit Agreement. The Custodian
or its successors in acting hereunder shall be subject at all times and in all
respects to the direction of the Depositary for the Shares for which the
Custodian acts as custodian and shall be responsible solely to it. If
any Custodian resigns or is discharged from its duties hereunder with respect to
any Deposited Securities and no other Custodian has previously been appointed
hereunder, the Depositary shall promptly appoint a substitute custodian that is
organized under the laws of the ROC. The Depositary shall require
such resigning or discharged Custodian to deliver the Deposited Securities held
by it, together with all such records maintained by it as Custodian with respect
to such Deposited Securities as the Depositary may request, to the Custodian
designated by the Depositary. Whenever the Depositary determines, in
its discretion, that it is appropriate to do so, it may appoint an additional
custodian with respect to any Deposited Securities, or discharge the Custodian
with respect to any Deposited Securities and appoint a substitute custodian,
which shall thereafter be Custodian hereunder with respect to the Deposited
Securities. Immediately upon any such change, the Depositary shall
give notice thereof in writing to all Holders of Receipts, each other Custodian
and the Company.
Upon the
appointment of any successor depositary, any Custodian then acting hereunder
shall, unless otherwise instructed by the Depositary, continue to be the
Custodian of the Deposited Securities without any further act or writing, and
shall be subject to the direction of the successor depositary. The
successor depositary so appointed shall, nevertheless, on the written request of
any Custodian, execute and deliver to such Custodian all such instruments as may
be proper to give to such Custodian full and complete power and authority to act
on the direction of such successor depositary.
56
Section
5.6. Notices and
Reports. On or before the first date on which the Company gives
notice, by publication or otherwise, of any meeting of holders of Shares or
other Deposited Securities, or of any adjourned meeting of such holders, or of
the taking of any action by such holders other than at a meeting, or of the
taking of any action in respect of any cash or other distributions or the
offering of any rights in respect of Deposited Securities, the Company shall
transmit to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of the notice thereof in the
English language but otherwise in the form given or to be given to holders of
Deposited Securities. The Company shall also furnish to the Custodian and the
Depositary a summary, in English, of any applicable provisions or proposed
provisions of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company that may be relevant
or pertain to such notice of meeting or be the subject of a vote
thereat.
The
Company will also transmit to the Depositary (a) an English language version of
the other notices, reports and communications which are made generally available
by the Company to holders of its Shares or other Deposited Securities and (b)
the English-language versions of the Company's annual reports prepared in
accordance with the applicable requirements of the Commission. The Depositary
shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's expense, for
the mailing of copies thereof to all Holders or make such notices, reports and
other communications available to all Holders on a basis similar to that for
holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities or on such other basis as the
Company may advise the Depositary or as may be required by any applicable law,
regulation or stock exchange requirement. The Company has delivered
to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of the Company's Articles of
Incorporation along with the provisions of or governing the Shares and any other
Deposited Securities issued by the Company or any Affiliate of the Company in
connection with such Shares, and promptly upon any amendment thereto or change
therein, the Company shall deliver to the Depositary and the Custodian a copy of
such amendment thereto or change therein. The Depositary may rely
upon such copy for all purposes of this Deposit Agreement.
57
The
Depositary will, at the expense of the Company, make available a copy of any
such notices, reports or communications issued by the Company and delivered to
the Depositary for inspection by the Holders of the Receipts evidencing the
American Depositary Shares representing such Shares governed by such provisions
at the Depositary's Principal Office, at the office of the Custodian and at any
other designated transfer office.
Section
5.7. Issuance of Additional
Eligible Securities, ADSs, etc. The Company agrees that in the
event it or any of its Affiliates (to the extent applicable) proposes
(i) an issuance, sale or distribution of additional Eligible Securities,
(ii) an offering of rights to subscribe for Eligible Securities,
(iii) an issuance of securities convertible into or exchangeable for
Eligible Securities, (iv) an issuance of rights to subscribe for securities
convertible into or exchangeable for Eligible Securities, and (v) an
elective dividend of cash or Eligible Securities, it will obtain legal advice
and take all steps necessary to ensure that the application of the proposed
transaction to Holders and Beneficial Owners does not violate the laws and
regulations of the ROC and the registration provisions of the Securities Act, or
any other applicable laws (including, without limitation, the Investment Company
Act of 1940, as amended, the Exchange Act or the securities laws of the states
of the United States). In support of the foregoing, the Company will
furnish to the Depositary (a) a written opinion of U.S. counsel (reasonably
satisfactory to the Depositary) stating whether or not application of such
transaction to Holders and Beneficial Owners (1) requires a registration
statement under the Securities Act to be in effect or (2) is exempt from
the registration requirements of the Securities Act and (b) an opinion of
ROC counsel stating that (1) making the transaction available to Holders
and Beneficial Owners does not violate the laws or regulations of the ROC and
(2) all requisite regulatory consents and approvals have been obtained in
the ROC. If the filing of a registration statement is required, the
Depositary shall not have any obligation to proceed with the transaction unless
it shall have received evidence reasonably satisfactory to it that such
registration statement has been declared effective. If, being advised
by counsel, the Company determines that a transaction is required to be
registered under the Securities Act, the Company will either (i) register
such transaction to the extent necessary, (ii) alter the terms of the
transaction to avoid the registration requirements of the Securities Act or
(iii) direct the Depositary to take specific measures, in each case as
contemplated in this Deposit Agreement, to prevent such transaction from
violating the registration requirements of the Securities Act. The
Company agrees with the Depositary that neither the Company nor any of its
Affiliates will at any time (i) deposit any Eligible Securities, either upon
original issuance or upon a sale of Eligible Securities previously issued and
reacquired by the Company or by any such Affiliate, or (ii) issue
additional Eligible Securities, rights to subscribe for such Eligible
Securities, securities convertible into or exchangeable for Eligible Securities
or rights to subscribe for such securities, unless such transaction and the
securities issuable in such transaction are exempt from registration under the
Securities Act and, if applicable, the Exchange Act or have been registered
under the Securities Act and, if applicable, the Exchange Act (and such
registration statement has been declared effective).
58
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in this Deposit Agreement, nothing in this Deposit
Agreement shall be deemed to obligate the Company to file any registration
statement in respect of any proposed transaction.
Section
5.8. Indemnification.
The Company agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Custodian and any of their
respective directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates against, and
hold each of them harmless from and against, any loss, liability, tax, charge or
expense of any kind whatsoever (including, but not limited to, the reasonable
fees and expenses of counsel) that may arise (a) out of or in connection
with any offer, issuance, sale, resale, transfer, deposit or withdrawal of
Receipts, American Depositary Shares, the Eligible Securities or Deposited
Securities, as the case may be, (b) out of or as a result of any offering
documents in respect thereof or (c) out of acts performed or omitted,
including, but not limited to, any delivery by the Depositary on behalf of the
Company of information regarding the Company in connection with this Deposit
Agreement, the Receipts, the American Depositary Shares, the Eligible
Securities, or any Deposited Securities, in any such case (i) by the
Depositary, the Custodian or any of their respective directors, officers,
employees, agents and Affiliates, except to the extent such loss, liability,
tax, charge or expense directly arises out of its gross negligence or
willful misconduct of any of them, or (ii) by the Company or any of its
directors, officers, employees, agents and Affiliates.
Except as
provided in the next succeeding paragraph, the Depositary shall indemnify,
defend and save harmless the Company against any loss, liability or expense
incurred by the Company in respect of this Deposit Agreement to the extent such
loss, liability or expense is due to the negligence or bad faith of the
Depositary.
59
Neither
the Depositary nor any of its agents shall be liable for any indirect, special,
punitive or consequential damages (including, without limitation, lost profits)
of any form incurred by any person or entity, whether or not foreseeable and
regardless of the type of action in which such a claim may be
brought.
The
obligations set forth in this Section shall survive the termination of this
Deposit Agreement and the succession or substitution of any party
hereto.
Any
person seeking indemnification hereunder (an "indemnified person") shall notify
the person from whom it is seeking indemnification (the "indemnifying person")
of the commencement of any indemnifiable action or claim promptly after such
indemnified person becomes aware of such commencement (provided that the failure
to make such notification shall not affect such indemnified person's rights to
seek indemnification except to the extent the indemnifying person is materially
prejudiced by such failure) and shall consult in good faith with the
indemnifying person as to the conduct of the defense of such action or claim
that may give rise to an indemnity hereunder, which defense shall be reasonable
in the circumstances. No indemnified person shall compromise or
settle any action or claim that may give rise to an indemnity hereunder without
the consent of the indemnifying person, which consent shall not be unreasonably
withheld.
Section
5.9. Fees and Charges of
Depositary. The Company, the Holders, the Beneficial Owners, and
persons depositing Eligible Securities or surrendering ADSs for cancellation and
withdrawal of Deposited Securities shall be required to pay to the Depositary
the Depositary's fees and related charges identified as payable by them
respectively in the form of Receipt. All fees and charges so payable
may, at any time and from time to time, be changed by agreement between the
Depositary and the Company, but, in the case of fees and charges payable by
Holders and Beneficial Owners, only in the manner contemplated in
Section 6.1. The Company agrees to promptly pay to the
Depositary such other fees and charges and to reimburse the Depositary for such
out-of-pocket expenses as the Depositary and the Company may agree to in writing
from time to time. Responsibility for payment of such charges may at
any time and from time to time be changed by agreement between the Company and
the Depositary. Unless otherwise agreed, the Depositary shall present its
statement for such expenses and fees or charges to the Company once every three
months. The charges and expenses of the Custodian are for the sole
account of the Depositary.
60
The right
of the Depositary to receive payment of fees, charges and expenses as provided
above shall survive the termination of this Deposit Agreement. As to
any Depositary, upon the resignation or removal of such Depositary as described
in Section 5.4 hereof, such right shall extend for those fees, charges and
expenses incurred prior to the effectiveness of such resignation or
removal.
Section
5.10. Pre-Release.
Subject to the further terms and provisions of this Section 5.10, the
Depositary, its Affiliates and their agents, on their own behalf, may own and
deal in any class of securities of the Company and its Affiliates and in
ADSs. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not lend
Eligible Securities or ADSs; provided, however, that, subject to ROC law and
regulations, the Depositary may (i) issue ADSs prior to the receipt of
Eligible Securities pursuant to Section 2.3 and (ii) deliver Eligible Securities
upon the receipt of ADSs for cancellation upon withdrawal of Deposited
Securities pursuant to Section 2.7, including ADSs which were issued under
(i) above but for which Eligible Securities may not have been received
(each such transaction a "Pre-Release Transaction"). The Depositary
may receive ADSs in lieu of Eligible Securities under (i) above and receive
Eligible Securities in lieu of ADSs under (ii) above. Each such
Pre-Release Transaction will be (a) subject to a written agreement whereby
the person or entity (the "Applicant") to whom ADSs or Eligible Securities are
to be delivered (w) represents that at the time of the Pre-Release
Transaction the Applicant or its customer owns the Eligible Securities or ADSs
that are to be delivered by the Applicant under such Pre-Release Transaction,
(x) agrees to indicate the Depositary as owner of such Eligible Securities
or ADSs in its records and to hold such Eligible Securities or ADSs in trust for
the Depositary until such Eligible Securities or ADSs are delivered to the
Depositary or the Custodian, (y) unconditionally guarantees to deliver to
the Depositary or the Custodian, as applicable, such Eligible Securities or
ADSs, and (z) agrees to any additional restrictions or requirements that
the Depositary deems appropriate, (b) at all times fully collateralized
with cash, United States government securities or such other collateral as the
Depositary deems appropriate, (c) terminable by the Depositary on not more
than five (5) business days' notice and (d) subject to such further
indemnities and credit regulations as the Depositary deems
appropriate. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement,
the Depositary shall not issue ADSs prior to the receipt of Eligible Securities
in the case of the deposit of Eligible Securities to be made by the Company in
connection with an offering of ADSs or pursuant to Sections 4.2 or 4.3, unless
requested by the Company and to the extent permitted by applicable
law.
61
The
Depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs involved in new Pre-Release
Transactions at any one time to thirty percent (30%) of the ADSs outstanding
(without giving effect to ADSs outstanding under (i) above), provided, however,
that the Depositary reserves the right to change or disregard such limit from
time to time as it deems appropriate, and may, with the prior written consent of
the Company, change such limit for purposes of general application.
The
Depositary may also set limits with respect to the number of ADSs involved in
Pre-Release Transactions with any one person on a case by case basis as it deems
appropriate. The Depositary may retain for its own account any
compensation received by it in conjunction with the
foregoing. Collateral provided pursuant to (b) above, but not the
earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the Holders (other than the
Applicant). Neither Temporary ADSs nor any interest in any Payment
Certificate shall be eligible for Pre-Release Transactions
hereunder.
Section
5.11. Restricted Securities
Owners. The Company agrees to advise in writing each of the persons
or entities who, to the best knowledge of the Company, holds Restricted
Securities that such Restricted Securities are ineligible for deposit hereunder
and, to the extent practicable, shall require each of such persons to represent
in writing that such person will not deposit Restricted Securities
hereunder.
ARTICLE
6.
AMENDMENT
AND TERMINATION
Section
6.1. Amendment/Supplement.
The Receipts outstanding at any time, the provisions of this Deposit Agreement
and the form of Receipt attached hereto and to be issued under the terms hereof
may at any time and from time to time be amended or supplemented by written
agreement between the Company and the Depositary in any respect which they may
deem necessary or desirable without the prior written consent of the Holders or
Beneficial Owners. Any amendment or supplement which shall impose or
increase any fees
62
or
charges (other than charges in connection with foreign exchange control
regulations, and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery and other such
expenses), or which shall otherwise materially prejudice any substantial
existing right of Holders or Beneficial Owners, shall not, however, become
effective as to outstanding Receipts until the expiration of 30 days after
notice of such amendment or supplement shall have been given to the Holders of
outstanding Receipts. The parties hereto agree that any amendments or
supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by the Company and the
Depositary) in order for (a) the American Depositary Shares to be registered on
Form F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the American Depositary Share(s) to be
traded solely in electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case
impose or increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed
not to materially prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial
Owners. Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment
or supplement so becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such
American Depositary Share(s), to consent and agree to such amendment or
supplement and to be bound by the Deposit Agreement as amended and supplemented
thereby. In no event shall any amendment or supplement impair the
right of the Holder to surrender such Receipt and receive therefor the Deposited
Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply with mandatory
provisions of applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if any
governmental body or regulatory body should adopt new laws, rules or regulations
which would require amendment or supplement of the Deposit Agreement or the form
of Receipt to ensure compliance therewith, the Company and the Depositary may
amend or supplement the Deposit Agreement and the Receipts at any time in
accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such
amendment or supplement to the Deposit Agreement in such circumstances may
become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to
Holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance. Notice of
any amendment to the Deposit Agreement or form of Receipts shall not need to
describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to
describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice
invalid, provided, however, that, in each such case, the notice given to the
Holders identifies a means for Holders to retrieve or receive the text of such
amendment (i.e., upon retrieval from the Securities and Exchange Commission's,
the Depositary's or the Company's website or upon request from the
Depositary).
63
Section
6.2. Termination.
The Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company,
terminate this Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the
Holders of all Receipts then outstanding at least 30 days prior to the date
fixed in such notice for such termination. If 60 days shall have
expired after (i) the Depositary shall have delivered to the Company a
written notice of its election to resign, or (ii) the Company shall have
delivered to the Depositary a written notice of the removal of the Depositary,
and in either case a successor depositary shall not have been appointed and
accepted its appointment as provided in Section 5.4, the Depositary may
terminate this Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the
Holders of all Receipts then outstanding at least 30 days prior to the date
fixed for such termination. On and after the date of termination of
this Deposit Agreement, the Holder of a Receipt will, upon surrender of such
Receipt at the Principal Office of the Depositary, upon the payment of the
charges of the Depositary for the surrender of Receipts referred to in Section
2.7 and subject to the conditions and restrictions set forth therein and subject
always to the restrictions on withdrawal as may be in effect under the laws and
regulations of the ROC, and upon payment of any applicable taxes or governmental
charges, be entitled to Delivery, to him or upon his order, of the amount of
Deposited Securities represented by such Receipt. If any Receipts
shall remain outstanding after the date of termination of this Deposit
Agreement, the Registrar thereafter shall discontinue the registration of
transfers of Receipts, and the Depositary shall suspend the distribution of
dividends to the Holders thereof, and shall not give any further notices or
perform any further acts under this Deposit Agreement, except that the
Depositary shall continue to collect dividends and other distributions
pertaining to Deposited Securities, shall sell rights as provided in this
Deposit Agreement, and shall continue to deliver Deposited Securities, subject
to the conditions and restrictions set forth in Section 2.7, together with
any dividends or other distributions received with respect thereto and the net
proceeds of the sale of any rights or other property, in exchange for Receipts
surrendered to the Depositary (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be,
in each case, the charges of the Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any
expenses for the account of the Holder in accordance with the terms and
conditions of this Deposit Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental
charges or assessments). At any time after the expiration of six
months from the date of termination of this Deposit Agreement, the Depositary
may sell the Deposited Securities then held hereunder and may thereafter hold
uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale, together with any other cash then
held by it hereunder, in an unsegregated account, without liability for interest
for the pro rata benefit of the Holders whose Receipts have not theretofore been
surrendered, such Holders thereupon becoming general creditors of the Depositary
with respect to such net proceeds. After making such sale, the
Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations under this Deposit Agreement
with respect to the Receipts, the Deposited Securities and the American
Depositary Shares, except to account for such net proceeds and other cash (after
deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the charges of the
Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any expenses for the account of the
Holder in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Deposit Agreement and
any applicable taxes or governmental charges or assessments). Upon
the termination of this Deposit Agreement, the Company shall be discharged from
all obligations under this Deposit Agreement except for its obligations to the
Depositary under Sections 5.8, 5.9 and 7.6 hereof.
64
ARTICLE
7.
MISCELLANEOUS
Section
7.1. Counterparts.
This Deposit Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of
which shall be deemed an original and all of such counterparts together shall
constitute one and the same agreement. Copies of this Deposit
Agreement shall be maintained with the Depositary and shall be open to
inspection by any Holder during business hours.
Section
7.2. No Third-Party
Beneficiaries. This Deposit Agreement is for the exclusive benefit
of the parties hereto (and their successors) and shall not be deemed to give any
legal or equitable right, remedy or claim whatsoever to any other person, except
to the extent specifically set forth in this Deposit
Agreement. Nothing in this Deposit Agreement shall be deemed to give
rise to a partnership or joint venture among the parties nor establish a
fiduciary or similar relationship among the parties. The parties
hereto acknowledge and agree that (i) the Depositary and its Affiliates may
at any time have multiple banking relationships with the Company and its
Affiliates, (ii) the Depositary and its Affiliates may be engaged at any
time in transactions in which parties adverse to the Company or the Holders or
Beneficial Owners may have interests and (iii) nothing contained in this
Agreement shall (a) preclude the Depositary or any of its Affiliates from
engaging in such transactions or establishing or maintaining such relationships,
(b) obligate the Depositary or any of its Affiliates to disclose such
transactions or relationships or to account for any profit made or payment
received in such transactions or relationships.
65
Section
7.3. Severability.
In case any one or more of the provisions contained in this Deposit Agreement or
in the Receipts should be or become invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any
respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions
contained herein or therein shall in no way be affected, prejudiced or disturbed
thereby.
Section
7.4. Holders and Beneficial
Owners as Parties; Binding Effect. The Holders and Beneficial
Owners from time to time of American Depositary Shares shall be parties to the
Deposit Agreement and shall be bound by all of the terms and conditions thereof
and of any Receipt by acceptance thereof of any beneficial interest
therein.
Section
7.5. Notices. Any
and all notices to be given to the Company shall be deemed to have been duly
given if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to United
Microelectronics Corporation, 0X, Xx. 00, Xxx Xxx Xxxxx Xxxx, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx,
ROC, Attention: Investor Relations Department, Finance Division, Fax: x000 0
0000-0000, or to any other address and number which the Company may specify in
writing to the Depositary.
Any and
all notices to be given to the Depositary shall be deemed to have been duly
given if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A., Four Xxx Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, Attention: ADR
Administration, or to any other address which the Depositary may specify in
writing to the Company.
Any and
all notices to be given to the Custodian shall be deemed to have been duly given
if personally delivered or sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or
facsimile transmission, confirmed by letter, addressed to JPMorgan Chase Bank,
N.A., Taipei Branch, 8th
Floor, Xx. 000, Xxx Xx Xxxx, Xxx. 0, Xxxxxx, Xxxxxx 00000 ROC or to any other
address which the Custodian may specify in writing to the Company.
66
Any and
all notices to be given to any Holder shall be deemed to have been duly given if
personally delivered or sent by mail or cable, telex or facsimile transmission,
confirmed by letter, addressed to such Holder at the address of such Holder as
it appears on the transfer books for Receipts of the Depositary, or, if such
Holder shall have filed with the Depositary a written request that notices
intended for such Holder be mailed to some other address, at the address
specified in such request. Notice to Holders shall be deemed to be
notice to Beneficial Owners for all purposes of this Deposit
Agreement.
Delivery
of a notice sent by mail, air courier or cable, telex or facsimile transmission
shall be deemed to be effective at the time when a duly addressed letter
containing the same (or a confirmation thereof in the case of a cable, telex or
facsimile transmission) is deposited, postage prepaid, in a post-office letter
box or delivered to an air courier service. The Depositary or the
Company may, however, act upon any cable, telex or facsimile transmission
received by it from the other or from any Holder, notwithstanding that such
cable, telex or facsimile transmission shall not subsequently be confirmed by
letter as aforesaid.
Section
7.6. Governing Law and
Jurisdiction. This Deposit Agreement and the Receipts shall be
interpreted in accordance with, and all rights hereunder and thereunder and
provisions hereof and thereof shall be governed by, the laws of the State of New
York without reference to the principles of choice of law
thereof. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Deposit
Agreement, any Receipt or any present or future provisions of the laws of the
State of New York, the rights of holders of Deposited Securities and the
obligations and duties of the Company in respect of the holders of Deposited
Securities, as such, shall be governed by the laws of the ROC (or, if
applicable, such other laws as may govern the Deposited
Securities).
67
Except as
set forth in the following paragraph of this Section 7.6, the Company and the
Depositary agree that the federal or state courts in The City of New York shall
have jurisdiction to hear and determine any suit, action or proceeding and to
settle any dispute between them that may arise out of or in connection with this
Deposit Agreement and, for such purposes, each irrevocably submits to the
non-exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. The Company irrevocably
agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding against the Company brought by
the Depositary or any Holder, arising out of or based upon this Deposit
Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby, may be instituted in any
state or federal court in New York, New York, and irrevocably waives any
objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such
proceeding, and irrevocably submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such
courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. The Company also irrevocably
agrees that any legal suit, action or proceeding against the Depositary brought
by the Company, arising out of or based upon this Deposit Agreement or the
transactions contemplated hereby, may only be instituted in a state or federal
court in New York, New York. The Company has appointed CT Corporation System
Inc. with offices currently at 000 Xxxxxx Xxxxxx, 00xx
Xxxxx , Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000 as its authorized agent (the "Authorized
Agent") upon which process may be served in any such action arising out of or
based on this Deposit Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby which
may be instituted in any state or federal court in New York, New York by the
Depositary or any Holder, and waives any other requirements of or objections to
personal jurisdiction with respect thereto. The Company represents
and warrants that the Authorized Agent has agreed to act as said agent for
service of process, and the Company agrees to take any and all action, including
the filing of any and all documents and instruments, that may be necessary to
continue such appointment in full force and effect as aforesaid. Service of
process upon the Authorized Agent and written notice of such service to the
Company shall be deemed, in every respect, effective service of process upon the
Company. If, for any reason, the Authorized Agent named above or its successor
shall no longer serve as agent of the Company to receive service of process in
New York, the Company shall promptly appoint a successor acceptable to the
Depositary, so as to serve and will promptly advise the Depositary
thereof. In the event the Company fails to continue such designation
and appointment in full force and effect, the Company hereby waives personal
service of process upon it and consents that any such service of process may be
made by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, directed to the
Company at its address last specified for notices hereunder (with copy by fax to
the Company at x000 0 000-0000 or such other number as may be provided by the
Company in accordance with the notice provisions of this Deposit Agreement), and
service so made shall be deemed completed five (5) days after the same shall
have been so mailed. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any action
based on this Deposit Agreement may be instituted by the Depositary or any
Holder in any competent court in the ROC. To the extent that the
Company or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter
be entitled to, or have attributed to it, any right of immunity, on the grounds
of sovereignty or otherwise, from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the
giving of any relief in any respect thereof, from setoff or counterclaim, from
the jurisdiction of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or
prior to judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, or from
execution of judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of
any relief or for the enforcement of any judgment, in any jurisdiction in which
proceedings may at any time be commenced, with respect to its obligations,
liabilities or other matter under or arising out of or in connection with the
Shares or Deposited Securities, the ADSs, the ADRs or this Deposit Agreement,
the Company, to the fullest extent permitted by law, hereby irrevocably and
unconditionally waives, and agrees not to plead or claim, any such immunity and
consents to such relief and enforcement.
68
Notwithstanding
the foregoing, the Depositary and the Company unconditionally agree that in the
event that a Holder or Beneficial Owner brings a suit, action or proceeding
against (a) the Company, (b) the Depositary in its capacity as
Depositary under this Deposit Agreement or (c) against both the Company and
the Depositary, in any such case, in any state or federal court of the United
States, and the Depositary or the Company have any claim, for indemnification or
otherwise, against each other arising out of the subject matter of such suit,
action or proceeding, then the Company and the Depositary may pursue such claim
against each other in the state or federal court in the United States in which
such suit, action, or proceeding is pending and, for such purposes, the Company
and the Depositary irrevocably submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of such
courts. The Company agrees that service of process upon the Agent in
the manner set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be effective service upon
it for any suit, action or proceeding brought against it as described in this
paragraph.
The
Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted
by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue
of any actions, suits or proceedings brought in any court as provided in this
Section 7.6, and hereby further irrevocably and unconditionally waives and
agrees not to plead or claim in any such court that any such action, suit or
proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient
forum.
The
Company irrevocably and unconditionally waives, to the fullest extent permitted
by law, and agrees not to plead or claim, any right of immunity from legal
action, suit or proceeding, from setoff or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction
of any court, from service of process, from attachment upon or prior to
judgment, from attachment in aid of execution or judgment, from execution of
judgment, or from any other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any
relief or for the enforcement of any judgment, and consents to such relief and
enforcement against it, its assets and its revenues in any jurisdiction, in each
case with respect to any matter arising out of, or in connection with, the
Deposit Agreement, any Receipt or the Deposited Securities.
69
No
disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of
the Deposit Agreement. The provisions of this Section 7.6 shall
survive any termination of this Deposit Agreement, in whole or in
part.
EACH
PARTY TO THIS DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH HOLDER
AND BENEFICIAL OWNER AND/OR HOLDER OF INTERESTS IN ANY AMERICAN DEPOSITARY
SHARES) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE
LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING
AGAINST THE DEPOSITARY AND/OR THE COMPANY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF
OR RELATING TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE ADSs OR THE ADRs,
THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE
BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, COMMON LAW OR ANY
OTHER THEORY).
Section
7.7. Assignment.
Subject to the provisions of Section 5.4 hereof, this Deposit Agreement may
not be assigned by either the Company or the Depositary.
Section
7.8. Compliance with U.S.
Securities Laws. Notwithstanding anything in this Deposit Agreement
to the contrary, the withdrawal or delivery of Deposited Securities will not be
suspended by the Company or the Depositary except as would be permitted by
Instruction I.A.(1) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 Registration
Statement, as amended from time to time, under the Securities Act.
Section
7.9. Titles. All
references in this Deposit Agreement to exhibits, articles, sections,
subsections, and other subdivisions refer to the exhibits, articles, sections,
subsections and other subdivisions of this Deposit Agreement unless expressly
provided otherwise. The words "this Deposit Agreement", "herein",
"hereof", "hereby", "hereunder", and words of similar import refer to the
Deposit Agreement as a whole as in effect between the Company, the Depositary
and the Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs and not to any particular
subdivision unless expressly so limited. Pronouns in masculine,
feminine and neuter gender shall be construed to include any other gender, and
words in the singular form shall be construed to include the plural and vice
versa unless the context otherwise requires. Titles to sections of
this Deposit Agreement are included for convenience only and shall be
disregarded in construing the language contained in this Deposit
Agreement.
70
Section
7.10. Amendment and
Restatement. This Deposit Agreement amends and restates the
Old Deposit Agreement in its entirety to consist exclusively of the Deposit
Agreement, and each Old Receipt is hereby deemed amended and restated to
substantially conform to the form of ADR set forth in Exhibit A annexed hereto,
except that, to the extent any portion of either such amendment and restatement
would prejudice any substantial existing right of owners of Old Receipts, such
portion shall not become effective as to such owners until 30 days after such
owners shall have received notice thereof, such notice to be conclusively deemed
given upon the mailing to such owners of notice of such amendment and
restatement which notice contains a provision whereby such owners can receive a
copy of the form of ADR.
71
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, UNITED MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION and JPMORGAN CHASE BANK,
N.A. have duly executed this Deposit Agreement as of the day and year first
above set forth and all Holders and Beneficial Owners shall become parties
hereto upon acceptance by them of American Depositary Shares evidenced by
Receipts issued in accordance with the terms hereof, or upon acquisition of any
beneficial interest therein.
UNITED
MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
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By:
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Name:
Xxxx Xxxx
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Title:
Chairman
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JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, N.A.
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By:
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Name:
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Title:
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72
EXHIBIT
A
[FORM OF
RECEIPT]
Number |
CUSIP
NUMBER: 910873 40 5
American
Depositary Shares (each
American
Depositary Share
representing
five Fully Paid common
shares
each par value NT$10 per
share)
|
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY RECEIPT
FOR
AMERICAN
DEPOSITARY SHARES
Representing
DEPOSITED
FULLY PAID COMMON SHARES
of
UNITED
MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION
(Incorporated
under the laws of the Republic of China (the "ROC"))
JPMORGAN
CHASE BANK, N.A., a national banking association organized and existing under
the laws of the United States of America, as depositary (the "Depositary"),
hereby certifies that ___________________[CEDE & CO., as nominee of THE
DEPOSITORY TRUST COMPANY (hereinafter ("DTC")] is the record owner of
_______________________ American Depositary Shares (hereinafter each an "ADS"),
representing deposited common shares, each of par value of NT$10, including
evidence of rights to receive such common shares (the "Shares") of United
Microelectronics Corporation, a corporation incorporated under the laws of the
ROC (the "Company"). As of the date of the Deposit Agreement (as hereinafter
defined), each ADS represents five Shares deposited under the Deposit Agreement
with the Custodian, which at the date of execution of the Deposit Agreement is
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Taipei Branch, (the "Custodian"). The ratio of
American Depositary Shares to Shares is subject to amendment as provided in
Article IV of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary's Principal Office is
located at Four Xxx Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxx Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, X.X.X.
A-1
(1) The Deposit
Agreement. This American Depositary Receipt is one of an issue of
American Depositary Receipts ("Receipts" or "ADRs"), all issued and to be issued
upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Amended and Restated Deposit
Agreement dated as of October 21, 2009 by and among the Company, the Depositary
and all Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of American Depositary
Shares ("ADSs") evidenced by ADRs, (as so amended and restated and as further
amended and supplemented from time to time, the "Deposit Agreement"), with each
Holder and Beneficial Owner from time to time of ADSs evidenced by ADRs, by
accepting an ADS, becoming bound by all the terms and provisions
thereof.
The
statements made on the face and reverse of this Receipt are summaries of certain
provisions of the Deposit Agreement and the Articles of Incorporation of the
Company (as in effect on the date of the signing of the Deposit Agreement) and
are qualified by and subject to the detailed provisions of the Deposit Agreement
and the Articles of Incorporation, to which reference is hereby made. All
capitalized terms used herein which are not otherwise defined herein shall have
the meanings ascribed thereto in the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary makes no
representation or warranty as to the validity or worth of the Deposited
Securities. The Depositary has made arrangements for the acceptance of the ADSs
into DTC. Each Beneficial Owner of ADSs held through DTC must rely on the
procedures of DTC and the DTC Participants to exercise and be entitled to any
rights attributable to such ADSs.
(2) Surrender of Receipts and
Withdrawal and Sale of Deposited Securities.
(a) ROC Requirements. The
Depositary and the Company have been advised that under current ROC law, a
Holder who is a non-ROC person wishing to withdraw Deposited Securities from the
ADR facility is required to appoint an eligible agent in the ROC for filing tax
returns and making tax payments (a "Tax Guarantor"). Such Tax Guarantor will be
required to meet the qualifications set by the Ministry of Finance of the ROC
and will act as the guarantor of the withdrawing Holder's tax payment
obligations. In addition, subject to certain limited exceptions, under current
ROC law, repatriation of profits by a non-ROC withdrawing Holder is subject to
the submission of evidence of the appointment of a Tax Guarantor to, and
approval thereof by, the tax authority. In addition, under current ROC law, such
withdrawing Holder is required to appoint a local agent in the ROC to, among
other things, open a securities trading account with a local securities
brokerage firm, remit funds and exercise a shareholder's rights. In addition,
such withdrawing Holder is also required to appoint a custodian bank to hold the
securities and cash in safekeeping, make confirmations and settle trades and
report all relevant information. Without making such appointment and the opening
of such account, the withdrawing Holder would be unable to hold or subsequently
sell the Deposited Securities withdrawn from the ADR Facilities on the TSE or
otherwise. The laws of the ROC applicable to the withdrawal of Deposited
Securities may change from time to time. There can be no assurances that current
law will remain in effect or that future changes of ROC law will not adversely
affect the ability of Holders to withdraw Deposited Securities
hereunder.
A-2
(b) Sale of Deposited
Securities. Upon surrender of ADSs at the Principal Office and upon
payment of any fees, reasonable expenses, taxes or other governmental charges as
provided hereunder, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and the
Company's Articles of Incorporation, and the transfer restrictions applicable to
the Deposited Securities, if any, Holders may request that the Deposited
Securities represented by such Holders' ADSs be sold on such Holder's behalf.
Any Holder requesting a sale of Deposited Securities may be required by the
Depositary to deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the Depositary a written
order requesting the Depositary to sell, or cause to be sold, such Deposited
Securities. Any such sale of Deposited Securities will be conducted in
accordance with applicable ROC law through a securities company in the ROC on
the TSE or in such other manner as is or may be permitted under applicable ROC
law. The Depositary and the Company have been advised that under current ROC
law, the Shares deposited in connection with the Offering may not be sold for a
period of three months from the closing of the Offering. Any such sale of
Deposited Securities will be at the expense and risk of the Holder requesting
such sale. Any Holder requesting the Depositary to sell the Deposited Securities
represented by such Holder's ADSs may be required to enter into a separate
agreement to cover the terms of the sale of such Deposited
Securities.
Upon
receipt of any proceeds from any such sale, the Depositary shall, subject to any
restrictions imposed by ROC law and regulations, and as provided in the Deposit
Agreement, convert or cause to be converted any such proceeds into U.S. dollars
and distribute any such proceeds to the Holders entitled thereto after deduction
or payment of any fees, reasonable expenses, taxes or governmental charges
(including, without limitation, any ROC and U.S. taxes) incurred in connection
with such sale, as provided under the Deposit Agreement. Any such
sale may be subject to ROC taxation on capital gains, if any, and will be
subject to a securities transaction tax in the ROC. The ROC does not, as of the
date hereof, impose tax on capital gains arising from ROC securities
transactions, but there can be no assurance that a capital gains tax on ROC
securities transactions will not be imposed in the future or as to the manner in
which any ROC capital gains tax in respect of a sale of Deposited Securities
would be imposed or calculated.
A-3
(c) Withdrawal of Deposited
Securities. The Holder of this ADR (and of the ADSs evidenced hereby)
shall be entitled to Delivery (at the Custodian's designated office) of the
Deposited Securities at the time represented by the ADS(s) evidenced hereby upon
satisfaction of each of the following conditions: (i) the Holder (or
a duly authorized attorney of the Holder) has duly Delivered to the Depositary
at its Principal Office the ADSs evidenced hereby (and, if applicable, this ADR)
for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities represented thereby,
(ii) if so required by the Depositary, this ADR has been properly endorsed in
blank or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer in blank (including
signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice),
(iii) if so required by the Depositary, the Holder of the ADSs has executed and
delivered to the Depositary a written order directing the Depositary to cause
the Deposited Securities being withdrawn to be Delivered to or upon the written
order of the person(s) designated in such order, (iv) all applicable fees and
charges of, and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all
applicable taxes and governmental charges (as are set forth in paragraph (10) of
hereof) have been paid, and (v) the Holder of the ADSs has delivered to the
Depositary any and all certifications necessary to allow the Company to comply
with applicable ROC law reporting requirements (including the Form of
Certification Upon Withdrawal as Exhibit B to the Deposit Agreement), duly
completed by or on behalf of the Beneficial Owner(s) of the ADSs surrendered for
withdrawal (unless the Depositary is otherwise instructed by the Company),
subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of this ADR, of the
Deposit Agreement, of the Company's Articles of Incorporation and of any
applicable laws and regulations and the rules of the Taiwan Securities Central
Depository Co. Ltd., and to any provisions of or governing the Deposited
Securities, in each case as in effect at the time thereof. The Depositary and
the Company have been advised that under current ROC law, ADSs representing
newly issued Shares deposited in connection with the Offering may not be
surrendered for a period of three months from the closing of the Offering;
consequently, the Company and the Depositary have elected to prohibit the
surrender of ADSs and the withdrawal of any Shares deposited in connection with
the Offering until the expiration of such three month period.
A-4
Upon
satisfaction of each of the conditions specified above, the Depositary (i) shall
cancel the ADSs delivered to it (and, if applicable, the ADR evidencing the ADSs
so delivered), (ii) shall direct the Registrar to record the cancellation of the
ADSs so delivered on the books maintained for such purpose, and (iii) shall
direct the Custodian to deliver (without unreasonable delay) at the Custodian's
designated office the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs so cancelled
together with any certificate or other document of or relating to title for the
Deposited Securities, or evidence of the electronic transfer thereof (if
available), as the case may be, to or upon the written order of the person(s)
designated in the order delivered to the Depositary for such purpose, subject
however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement, of
this ADR, of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company, of applicable laws
and regulations and of the rules of the Taiwan Securities Central Depository Co.
Ltd., and to the terms and conditions of or governing the Deposited Securities,
in each case as in effect at the time thereof.
The
Depositary shall not accept for surrender ADSs representing less than a whole
number of Deposited Securities. In the case of the Delivery of ADSs representing
a number other than a whole number of Deposited Securities, the Depositary shall
cause ownership of the appropriate whole number of Deposited Securities to be
delivered in accordance with the terms hereof, and shall, at the discretion of
the Depositary, either (i) return to the person surrendering such ADSs the
number of ADSs representing any remaining fractional Deposited Securities, or
(ii) sell or cause to be sold the fractional Deposited Securities represented by
the ADS(s) so surrendered and remit the proceeds of such sale (net of (a)
applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b)
taxes withheld) to the person surrendering the ADSs.
Notwithstanding
anything else contained in this ADR or the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may
make delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary of (i) any cash
dividends or cash distributions, or (ii) any proceeds from the sale of any
distributions of securities or rights, which are at the time held by the
Depositary in respect of the Deposited Securities represented by the ADSs
evidenced by this ADR. At the request, risk and expense of any Holder
surrendering ADSs represented by this ADR, and for the account of such Holder,
the Depositary shall direct the Custodian to forward (to the extent permitted by
law) any cash or other property (other than securities) held by the Custodian in
respect of the Deposited Securities represented by such ADSs to the Depositary
for delivery at the Principal Office of the Depositary. Such direction shall be
given by letter or, at the request, risk and expense of such Holder, by air
courier, cable, telex or facsimile transmission.
A-5
Notwithstanding
any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or this ADR, the withdrawal of
Deposited Securities may be restricted only for the reasons set forth in General
Instruction I.A.(1) of Form F-6 (as such instructions may be amended from time
to time) under the Securities Act of 1933.
(3) Transfer, Combination and
Split-Up of Receipts. The Registrar shall register the transfer of this
Receipt (and of the ADSs represented thereby) on the books maintained for such
purpose and the Depositary shall cancel this Receipt and execute new Receipts
evidencing the same aggregate number and type of ADSs as those evidenced by this
Receipt when cancelled, shall cause the Registrar to countersign such new
Receipts, and shall Deliver such new Receipts to or upon the order of the person
entitled thereto, if each of the following conditions has been satisfied: (i)
this Receipt has been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly authorized
attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for the
purpose of effecting a transfer thereof (ii) this Receipt has been properly
endorsed or is accompanied by proper instruments of transfer (including
signature guarantees in accordance with standard securities industry practice),
(iii) this Receipt has been duly stamped (if required by the laws of the State
of New York or of the United States), and (iv) all applicable fees and charges
of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all applicable taxes and
governmental charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 to the Deposit Agreement)
have been paid subject, however, in each case, to the terms and conditions of
this Receipt, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law, in each case as in
effect at the time thereof.
The
Registrar shall register the split-up or combination of this Receipt (and of the
ADSs represented hereby) on the books maintained for such purpose and the
Depositary shall cancel this Receipt and execute new Receipts for the number of
ADSs requested, but in the aggregate not exceeding the number of the same type
of ADSs evidenced by this Receipt (when cancelled), shall cause the Registrar to
countersign such new Receipts, and shall Deliver such new Receipts to or upon
the order of the Holder thereof, if each of the following conditions has been
satisfied: (i) this Receipt has been duly Delivered by the Holder (or by a duly
authorized attorney of the Holder) to the Depositary at its Principal Office for
the purpose of effecting a split-up or combination hereof, and (ii) all
applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the Depositary and all
applicable taxes and government charges (as are set forth in Section 5.9 to the
Deposit Agreement) have been paid, subject, however, in each case, to the terms
and conditions of this Receipt, of the Deposit Agreement and of applicable law,
in each case, as in effect at the time thereof.
A-6
(4) Pre-Conditions to
Registration, Transfer, Etc. As a condition precedent to the execution
and delivery, registration of transfer, split-up, combination or surrender of
any Receipt the delivery of any distribution thereon, or the withdrawal of any
Deposited Securities, the Depositary or the Custodian may require (i) payment
from the depositor of Eligible Securities or presenter of ADSs or of a Receipt
of a sum sufficient to reimburse it for any tax or other governmental charges
and any stock transfer or registration fee with respect thereto (including any
such tax or charge and fee with respect to Eligible Securities being deposited
or withdrawn) and payment of any applicable fees and charges of the Depositary
as provided in the Deposit Agreement, (ii) the production of proof satisfactory
to it as to the identity and genuineness of any signature or any other matters
contemplated by Section 3.1 of the Deposit Agreement and (iii) compliance with
(A) any laws or governmental regulations relating to the execution and delivery
of Receipts and ADSs or to the withdrawal of Deposited Securities and (B) such
reasonable regulations as the Depositary and the Company establish consistent
with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law. The issuance of
ADSs against deposits of Eligible Securities generally or against deposits of
particular Eligible Securities may be suspended, or the deposit of particular
Eligible Securities may be refused, or the registration of transfer of Receipts
in particular instances may be refused, or the registration of transfer of
Receipts generally may be suspended, during any period when the transfer books
of the Company, the Depositary, a Registrar or the Eligible Securities Registrar
are closed or if any such action is deemed necessary or advisable by the
Depositary or the Company, in good faith, at any time or from time to time
because of any requirement of law, any government or governmental body or
commission or any securities exchange upon which the Receipts or Eligible
Securities are listed, or under any provision of the Deposit Agreement or
provisions of, or governing, the Deposited Securities, or any meeting of
shareholders of the Company or for any other reason, subject, in all cases, to
Article (24) hereof. Notwithstanding any provision of the Deposit Agreement or
this Receipt to the contrary, Holders are entitled to surrender outstanding ADSs
to withdraw the Deposited Securities at any time subject only to (i) temporary
delays caused by closing the transfer books of the Depositary or the Company or
the deposit of Eligible Securities in connection with voting at a shareholders
meeting or the payment of dividends, (ii) the payment of fees, taxes and similar
charges, (iii) compliance with any U.S., ROC or foreign laws or governmental
regulations relating to the Receipts or to the withdrawal of the Deposited
Securities, and (iv) other circumstances specifically contemplated by Section
I.A.(l) of the General Instructions to Form F-6 (as such General Instructions
may be amended from time to time).
A-7
(5) Compliance With Information
Requests. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement or
this Receipt, each Holder and Beneficial Owner of the ADSs represented hereby
agrees to comply with requests from the Company pursuant to ROC law, the rules
and requirements of the TSE, and of any stock exchange on which the Eligible
Securities or ADSs are, or will be, registered, traded or listed or the Articles
of Incorporation of the Company, which are made to provide information, inter
alia, as to the capacity in which such Holder or Beneficial Owner owns ADSs (and
Eligible Securities or Deposited Securities, as the case may be) and regarding
the identity of any other person(s) interested in such ADSs and the nature of
such interest and various other matters, whether or not they are Holders and/or
Beneficial Owners at the time of such request. The Depositary agrees to use its
reasonable efforts to forward, upon the request of the Company, and at the
Company's expense, any such request from the Company to the Holders and to
forward to the Company any such responses to such requests received by the
Depositary.
(6) Ownership
Restrictions. Notwithstanding any other provision in the Deposit
Agreement, the Company may restrict transfers of the Shares, Eligible Securities
or securities convertible into Shares where the Company informs the Depositary
that such transfer might result in ownership of Shares exceeding limits under
applicable law, the SFB, the TSE or the Articles of Incorporation of the
Company. The Company may also restrict, in such manner as it deems appropriate,
transfers of certificated ADSs where such transfer may result in the total
number of Shares, Eligible Securities, or securities convertible into Shares
represented by the ADSs owned by a single Holder or Beneficial Owner to exceed
any such limits. The Company reserves the right to instruct Holders to deliver
their American Depositary Shares for cancellation and withdrawal of the
Deposited Securities so as to permit the Company to deal directly with the
Holder thereof as a holder of Shares and Holders agree to comply with such
instructions. The Depositary agrees to cooperate with the
Company in its efforts to inform Holders of the Company's exercise of its rights
under this paragraph and agrees to consult with, and provide reasonable
assistance without risk, liability or expense on the part of the Depositary, to
the Company on the manner or manners in which it may enforce such rights with
respect to any Holder.
A-8
The
Company may, in its sole discretion but subject to applicable law, instruct the
Depositary to take action with respect to the ownership interest of any Holder
or Beneficial Owner in excess of the limits set forth in the preceding sentence,
including but not limited to the imposition of restrictions on the transfer of
ADSs, the removal or limitation of voting rights or mandatory sale or
disposition on behalf of a Holder or Beneficial Owner of the Deposited
Securities represented by the ADSs held by such Holder or Beneficial Owner in
excess of such limitations, if and to the extent such disposition is permitted
by applicable law and the Articles of Incorporation of the Company.
(7) Liability of Holder for
Taxes, Duties and Other Charges. If any tax or other
governmental charge shall become payable by or on behalf of the Custodian or the
Depositary with respect to this ADR, any Deposited Securities represented by the
ADSs evidenced hereby or any distribution thereon, such tax or other
governmental charge shall be paid by the Holder hereof to the
Depositary. The Depositary may refuse to effect any registration,
registration of transfer, split-up or combination hereof or, subject to the last
sentence of paragraph (2), any withdrawal of such Deposited Securities until
such payment is made. The Depositary may also deduct from any
distributions on or in respect of Deposited Securities, or may sell by public or
private sale for the account of the Holder hereof any part or all of such
Deposited Securities (after attempting by reasonable means to notify the Holder
hereof prior to such sale), and may apply such deduction or the proceeds of any
such sale in payment of such tax or other governmental charge, the Holder hereof
remaining liable for any deficiency, and shall reduce the number of ADSs
evidenced hereby to reflect any such sales of Shares and shall distribute the
net proceeds of any such sale or the balance of any such property after
deduction of such tax or other governmental charge to the Holder hereof.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company will pay
A-9
all stamp
duties and other similar duties or taxes payable in the ROC, the United States
of America and any other jurisdiction, on or in connection with the constitution
and issue of the ADSs and the execution or other event concerning the Deposit
Agreement. If any legal proceedings are taken to enforce the obligations of the
Company under the Deposit Agreement or the ADSs (including the certificates
evidencing such ADSs) and for the purpose of such proceedings any of them are
required to be taken into or enforced in any jurisdiction and stamp duties or
other similar duties or taxes become payable in connection with such proceedings
in such jurisdiction, the Company will forthwith pay (or reimburse the person
making a valid payment of) all such stamp duties and other similar duties and
taxes, including penalties and interest (if any) unless otherwise ordered by a
court of competent jurisdiction in such proceedings. The
Depositary may sell any Deposited Securities and cancel ADSs with respect
thereof in order to pay any such stamp duties or other similar duties or taxes
owed hereunder by Holders without the Depositary being required to request
payment thereof from Holders. In connection with any distribution to Holders,
the Company will remit to the appropriate governmental authority or agency all
amounts (if any) required to be withheld and owing to such authority or agency
by the Company; and the Depositary and the Custodian will remit to the
appropriate governmental authority or agency all amounts (if any) required to be
withheld and owing to such authority or agency by the Depositary or the
Custodian. If the Depositary determines that any distribution in
property other than cash (including Shares or rights) on Deposited Securities is
subject to any tax that the Depositary or the Custodian is obligated to
withhold, the Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such property in
such amounts and in such manner as the Depositary deems necessary and
practicable to pay such taxes, by public or private sale, and the Depositary
shall distribute the net proceeds of any such sale or the balance of any such
property after deduction of such taxes to the Holders entitled thereto. The Company shall, as soon
as practicable after the due date for any payment to the government of the ROC
of any tax or other governmental charge with respect to any distribution with
respect to Deposited Securities, provide the Depositary with an official receipt
from the ROC (or certified copies thereof) setting forth the amounts, if any, of
tax or other government charge so paid to the government of the
ROC. The Depositary shall provide a copy of such receipt, or other
documentation, to the Holder of the ADRs evidencing such ADSs that are
representing such Deposited Securities at the time of such distribution upon the
request made by the Holder thereof to the Depositary. The Depositary
shall elect to waive any and all deferral of income tax on Share Distributions
received hereunder. Each Holder of an ADR or an interest therein
agrees to indemnify the Depositary, the Company, the Custodian and any of their
respective directors, employees, agents and affiliates against, and hold each of
them harmless from, any claims by any governmental authority with respect to
taxes, additions to tax, penalties or interest arising out of any refund of
taxes, reduced rate of withholding at source or other tax benefit
obtained.
A-10
(8) Representations and
Warranties on Deposit of Eligible Securities. Each person depositing
Shares under the Deposit Agreement shall be deemed thereby to represent and
warrant that (i) such Shares (and the certificates therefor) are duly
authorized, validly issued, fully paid, non-assessable and legally obtained by
such person, (ii) all preemptive (and similar) rights, if any, with respect to
such Shares, have been validly waived or exercised, (iii) the person making such
deposit is duly authorized so to do and (iv) the Shares presented for deposit
are free and clear of any lien, encumbrance, security interest, charge, mortgage
or adverse claim and are not, and the ADSs issuable upon such deposit will not
be, Restricted Securities and the Shares presented for deposit have not been
stripped of any rights or entitlements. Such representations and warranties
shall survive the deposit and withdrawal of Shares, the issuance and
cancellation of ADSs in respect thereof and the transfer of such
ADSs.
If any
such representations or warranties are false in any way, the Company and
Depositary shall be authorized, at the cost and expense of the person depositing
Shares, to take any and all actions necessary to correct the consequences
thereof.
(9) Filing Proofs, Certificates
and Other Information. Any person presenting Eligible Securities for
deposit, any Holder and any Beneficial Owner may be required, and every Holder
and Beneficial Owner agrees from time to time to provide to the Depositary and
the Custodian such proof of citizenship or residence, taxpayer status, payment
of all applicable taxes or other governmental charges, exchange control and any
other applicable regulatory approval, legal or beneficial ownership of ADSs and
Deposited Securities, compliance with applicable laws and the terms of the
Deposit Agreement and the provisions of, or governing, the Deposited Securities,
to execute such certifications and to make such representations and warranties
and to provide such other information or documentation (or, in the case of
Eligible Securities in registered form presented for deposit, such information
relating to the registration on the books of the Company or of the Eligible
Securities Registrar) as the Depositary or the Custodian may reasonably deem
necessary or proper or as the Company may reasonably require by written request
to the Depositary. The Depositary and the Registrar, as applicable, may withhold
the execution or delivery or registration of transfer of any Receipt or the
distribution or sale of any dividend or other distribution of rights or of the
proceeds thereof or, to the extent not limited by the terms of the Deposit
Agreement, the delivery of any Deposited Securities until such proof or other
information is filed or such certificates are executed, or such representations
are made or such other documents or information are provided, in each case to
the Depositary's, the Registrar's and the Company's satisfaction. The Depositary
shall provide the Company, in a timely manner, with copies or originals if
necessary and appropriate of (i) any such proofs of citizenship or residence,
taxpayer status, or exchange control approval which it receives from Holders and
Beneficial Owners, (ii) any other information or documents which the Company may
reasonably request and which the Depositary shall reasonably request and receive
from any Holder or Beneficial Owner or any person presenting Eligible Securities
for deposit or ADSs for cancellation, transfer or withdrawal, and (iii) in the
case of withdrawal of Shares, any information and documents provided by Holders
to the Depositary, in accordance with Exhibit C of the Deposit Agreement.
Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to (i) obtain any information for
the Company if not provided by the Holders or Beneficial Owners or (ii) verify
or vouch for the accuracy of the information so provided by the Holders or
Beneficial Owners.
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(10) Charges of
Depositary. The Depositary may charge, and collect from, (i) each person
to whom ADSs are issued, including, without limitation,
issuances against deposits of Shares, issuances in respect of
distribution of ADSs or securities pursuant to stock splits, or free stock
distributions (e.g., spin-off shares) or upon the exercise of rights to purchase
additional ADSs or other distributions), issuances pursuant to a stock
dividend or issuances pursuant to a merger, exchange of securities or any
other transaction or event affecting the ADSs or the Deposited Securities,
and (ii) each person surrendering ADSs for withdrawal of Deposited
Securities or whose ADSs are cancelled or reduced for any other reason,
U.S.$5.00 for each 100 ADSs (or portion thereof) issued, delivered, reduced,
cancelled or surrendered (as the case may be). The Depositary may sell (by
public or private sale) sufficient securities and property received by it prior
to such deposit to pay such charge. The following additional charges shall be
incurred by the Holders, by any party depositing or withdrawing Shares or by any
party surrendering ADSs, to whom ADSs are issued (including, without limitation,
issuance pursuant to a stock dividend or
A-12
stock
split declared by the Company or an exchange of stock regarding the ADSs or the
Deposited Securities or a distribution of ADSs pursuant to paragraph (10)),
whichever is applicable (i) a fee of U.S.$0.05 or less per ADS for any cash
distribution made pursuant to the Deposit Agreement, (ii) a fee of U.S.$1.50 per
ADR or ADRs for transfers made pursuant to paragraph (3) hereof, (iii) a fee for
the distribution or sale of securities pursuant to Article IV of the Deposit
Agreement, such fee being in an amount equal to the fee for the execution and
delivery of ADSs referred to above which would have been charged as a result of
the deposit of such securities (for purposes of this paragraph (10) treating all
such securities as if they were Shares) but which securities or the net cash
proceeds from the sale thereof are instead distributed by the Depositary to
Holders entitled thereto, and (iv) reimbursement of such fees, charges and
expenses as are incurred by the Depositary and/or any of the Depositary's agents
(including, without limitation, the Custodian and expenses incurred on behalf of
Holders in connection with compliance with foreign exchange control regulations
or any law or regulation relating to foreign investment) in connection with the
servicing of the Shares or other Deposited Securities, the delivery of Deposited
Securities or otherwise in connection with the Depositary's or its Custodian's
compliance with applicable law, rule or regulation (which charge shall be
assessed on a proportionate basis against Holders as of the record date or dates
set by the depositary and shall be payable at the sole discretion of the
Depositary by billing such Holders or by deducting such charge from one or more
cash dividends or other cash distributions). The Company will pay all other
charges and expenses of the Depositary and any agent of the Depositary (except
the Custodian) pursuant to agreements from time to time between the Company and
the Depositary, except (i) stock transfer or other taxes and other governmental
charges (which are payable by Holders or persons depositing Shares), (ii) cable,
telex and facsimile transmission and delivery charges incurred at the request of
persons depositing, or Holders delivering Shares, ADRs or Deposited Securities
(which are payable by such persons or Holders), (iii) transfer or registration
fees for the registration or transfer of Deposited Securities on any applicable
register in connection with the deposit or withdrawal of Deposited Securities
(which are payable by persons depositing Shares or Holders withdrawing Deposited
Securities; there are no such fees in respect of the Shares as of the date of
the Deposit Agreement), and (iv) expenses of the Depositary in connection with
the conversion of foreign currency into U.S. dollars or the sale of Shares to
pay ROC withholdings taxes on stock dividends pursuant to the Deposit Agreement
(which are paid out of such foreign currency). Such charges may at any time and
from time to time be changed by agreement between the Company and the
Depositary.
A-13
Any other
charges and expenses of the Depositary under the Deposit Agreement will be paid
by the Company upon agreement between the Depositary and the Company. All fees
and charges may, at any time and from time to time, be changed by agreement
between the Depositary and Company but, in the case of fees and charges payable
by Holders or Beneficial Owners, only in the manner contemplated by paragraph
(22) of this ADR and as contemplated in the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary
will provide, without charge, a copy of its latest fee schedule to anyone upon
request. The charges and expenses of the Custodian are for the sole account of
the Depositary.
(11) Title to Receipts. It
is a condition of this Receipt, and every successive Holder of this Receipt by
accepting or holding the same consents and agrees, that title to this Receipt
(and to each Certificated ADS evidenced hereby) shall be transferable on the
same terms as a certificated security under the laws of the State of New York,
provided that, in the case of Certificated ADSs, the Receipt has been properly
endorsed or is accompanied by properly executed instruments of transfer.
Notwithstanding any notice to the contrary, the Depositary may deem and treat
the Holder of this Receipt (that is, the person in whose name this Receipt is
registered on the books of the Depositary) as the absolute owner thereof for all
purposes. The Depositary shall have no obligation nor be subject to any
liability under the Deposit Agreement or this Receipt to any holder of this
Receipt or any Beneficial Owner unless such holder is the Holder of this Receipt
registered on the books of the Depositary or, in the case of a Beneficial Owner,
such Beneficial Owner, or the Beneficial Owner's representative, is the Holder
registered on the books of the Depositary.
(12) Validity of Receipt.
This Receipt (and the American Depositary Shares represented hereby) shall not
be entitled to any benefits under the Deposit Agreement or be valid or
enforceable for any purpose against the Depositary or the Company unless this
Receipt has been (i) dated, (ii) signed by the manual or facsimile signature of
a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary, (iii) countersigned by the manual
or facsimile signature of a duly authorized signatory of the Registrar, and (iv)
registered in the books maintained by the Registrar for the registration of
issuances and transfers of Receipts. Receipts bearing the facsimile signature of
a duly-authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar, who at the time
of signature was a duly authorized signatory of the Depositary or the Registrar,
as the case may be, shall bind the Depositary, notwithstanding the fact that
such signatory has ceased to be so authorized prior to the delivery of such
Receipt by the Depositary.
A-14
(13) Available Information;
Reports; Inspection of Transfer Books. The Company is subject to the
periodic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and accordingly files
certain information with the Commission. These reports and documents can be
inspected and copied at the public reference facilities maintained by the
Commission located at 000 X Xxxxxx, XX, Xxxxxxxxxx, XX 00000. The Depositary
shall make available for inspection by Holders at its Principal Office any
reports and communications, including any instruction soliciting materials,
received from the Company which are both (a) received by the Depositary, the
Custodian, or the nominee of either of them as the holder of the Deposited
Securities and (b) made generally available to the holders of such Deposited
Securities by the Company. The Depositary shall also mail to Holders copies of
such reports when furnished by the Company pursuant to Section 5.6 of the
Deposit Agreement.
The
Registrar shall keep books for the registration of issuances and transfers of
Receipts which at all reasonable times shall be open for inspection by the
Company and by the Holders of such Receipts, provided that such inspection shall
not be, to the Registrar's knowledge, for the purpose of communicating with
Holders of such Receipts in the interest of a business or object other than the
business of the Company or other than a matter related to the Deposit Agreement
or the Receipts.
If any
Receipts or the American Depositary Shares evidenced thereby are listed on one
or more stock exchanges or automated quotation systems in the United States, the
Depositary shall act as Registrar or appoint a Registrar or one or more
co-registrars for registration of Receipts and transfers, combinations and
split-ups, and to countersign such Receipts in accordance with any requirements
of such exchanges or systems. Such Registrar or co-registrars may be removed and
a substitute or substitutes appointed by the Depositary.
The
Registrar may close the transfer books with respect to the Receipts, at any time
or from time to time, when deemed necessary or advisable by it in good faith in
connection with the performance of its duties hereunder, subject, in all cases,
to Article (24) hereof.
A-15
Dated: | By: | ||
JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A. as Depositary | By: | ||
Authorized Representative | |||
Countersigned | Vice President |
The
address of the Principal Office of the Depositary is Four Xxx Xxxx Xxxxx, Xxx
Xxxx, Xxx Xxxx 00000, X.X.X.
A-16
[FORM
OF REVERSE OF RECEIPT]
SUMMARY
OF CERTAIN ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS
OF THE
DEPOSIT AGREEMENT
(14) Dividends and Distributions
in Cash, Eligible Securities, etc. Subject always to the laws and
regulations of the ROC, whenever the Depositary receives confirmation from the
Custodian of receipt of any cash dividend or other cash distribution on any
Deposited Securities, or receives proceeds from the sale of any Deposited
Securities or any entitlements held in respect of Deposited Securities under the
terms hereof, the Depositary will, if at the time of receipt thereof any amounts
received in a Foreign Currency can in the judgment of the Depositary (pursuant
to Section 4.7 of the Deposit Agreement) be converted on a practicable basis
into Dollars transferable to the United States, promptly convert or cause to be
converted such cash dividend, distribution or proceeds into Dollars (on the
terms described in Section 4.7 of the Deposit Agreement) and will distribute
promptly the amount thus received (net of (a) the applicable fees and charges
of, and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes withheld)
to the Holders entitled thereto as of the ADS Record Date in proportion to the
number of American Depositary Shares held as of the ADS Record Date. The
Depositary shall distribute only such amount, however, as can be distributed
without attributing to any Holder a fraction of one cent. Fractional
cents will be withheld without liability and dealt with by the Depositary in
accordance with its then current practices. If the Company, the
Custodian or the Depositary is required to withhold and does withhold from any
cash dividend or other cash distribution in respect of any Deposited Securities
an amount on account of taxes, duties or other governmental charges, the amount
distributed to Holders on the American Depositary Shares representing such
Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly. Such withheld amounts shall
be forwarded by the Company, the Custodian or the Depositary to the relevant
governmental authority. Evidence of payment thereof by the Company shall be
forwarded by the Company to the Depositary upon request.
A-17
Subject
always to the laws and regulations of the ROC, if any distribution upon any
Deposited Securities consists of a dividend in, or free distribution of Eligible
Securities, the Company shall cause such Eligible Securities to be deposited
with the Custodian and registered, as the case may be, in the name of the
Depositary, the Custodian or any of their nominees. Upon receipt of confirmation
of such deposit from the Custodian, the Depositary shall establish the ADS
Record Date upon the terms described in Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement and
either (i) the Depositary shall, subject to Section 5.9 thereof, and the laws
and regulations of the ROC, distribute to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date
in proportion to the number of American Depositary Shares held as of the ADS
Record Date, additional American Depositary Shares, which represent in the
aggregate the number of Eligible Securities received as such dividend, or free
distribution, subject to the other terms of this Deposit Agreement (including,
without limitation, (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and reasonable
expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes), or (ii) if additional
American Depositary Shares are not so distributed, each American Depositary
Share issued and outstanding after the ADS Record Date shall, to the extent
permissible by law, thenceforth also represent rights and interests in the
additional integral number of Eligible Securities distributed upon the Deposited
Securities represented thereby (subject to the laws and regulations of the ROC
and net of (a) the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary and (b) taxes). In lieu of delivering fractional American Depositary
Shares, the Depositary shall sell the number of Eligible Securities or American
Depositary Shares, as the case may be, represented by the aggregate of such
fractions and distribute the net proceeds upon the terms described in Section
4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. In the event that (x) the Depositary determines
that any distribution in property (including Eligible Securities) is subject to
any tax or other governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to
withhold, or, (y) if the Company, in the fulfillment of its obligation under
Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, has furnished an opinion of U.S. counsel
determining that Eligible Securities must be registered under the Securities Act
or other laws in order to be distributed to Holders (and no such registration
statement has been declared effective), or (z) the deposit of Eligible
Securities is not permitted under the laws or regulations of the ROC, the
Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Eligible
Securities and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner,
including by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and
practicable, and the Depositary shall distribute the net proceeds of any such
sale (after deduction of such (a) taxes and (b) fees and charges of, and
reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary) to Holders entitled thereto
upon the terms described in Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary
shall hold and/or distribute any unsold balance of such property in accordance
with the provisions of the Deposit Agreement.
A-18
Subject
always to the laws and regulations of the ROC, whenever the Company intends to
distribute to the holders of the Deposited Securities rights to subscribe for
additional Eligible Securities, the Company shall give timely notice thereof to
the Depositary stating whether or not it wishes such rights to be made available
to Holders of ADSs. Upon receipt of a notice indicating that the Company wishes
such rights to be made available to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall
consult with the Company to determine, and the Company shall assist the
Depositary in its determination, whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable
to make such rights available to the Holders. The Depositary shall make such
rights available to Holders only if (i) the Company shall have requested that
such rights be made available to Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have
received satisfactory documentation within the terms of Section 5.7 of the
Deposit Agreement, and (iii) the Depositary shall have determined that such
distribution of rights is reasonably practicable. In the event any of the
conditions set forth above are not satisfied, the Depositary shall proceed with
the sale of the rights as contemplated in Section 4.3.2 of the Deposit
Agreement. In the event all conditions set forth above are satisfied, the
Depositary shall establish an ADS Record Date (upon the terms described in
Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement) and establish procedures to distribute
rights to purchase additional ADSs (by means of warrants or otherwise) and to
enable the Holders to exercise such rights (upon payment of applicable (a) fees
and charges of; and reasonable expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b)
taxes). The Company shall assist the Depositary to the extent necessary in
establishing such procedures. Nothing herein shall obligate the Depositary to
make available to the Holders a method to exercise rights to subscribe for
Eligible Securities (rather than ADSs).
If (i)
the Company does not request the Depositary to make the rights available to
Holders or requests that the rights not be made available to Holders, (ii) the
Depositary fails to receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of
Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement or determines it is not reasonably
practicable to make the rights available to Holders, or (iii) any rights made
available are not exercised and appear to be about to lapse, the Depositary
shall determine whether it is lawful and reasonably practicable to sell such
rights, in a riskless principal capacity, at such place and upon such terms
(including public or private sale) as it may deem practical. The Company shall
assist the Depositary to the extent necessary to determine such legality and
practicability. The Depositary shall, upon such sale, convert and distribute
proceeds of such sale (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and reasonable
expenses incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) upon the terms set forth in
Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement.
A-19
If the
Depositary is unable to make any rights available to Holders upon the terms
described in Section 4.3.1 of the Deposit Agreement or to arrange for the sale
of the rights upon the terms described in Section 4.3.2 of the Deposit
Agreement, the Depositary shall allow such rights to lapse.
The
Depositary shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may
be lawful or practicable to make such rights available to Holders in general or
any Holders in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred
in connection with such sale, or exercise, or (iii) the content of any materials
forwarded to the Holders on behalf of the Company in connection with the rights
distribution.
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary in Section 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement, if
registration (under the Securities Act or any other applicable law) of the
rights or the securities to which any rights relate may be required in order for
the Company to offer such rights or such securities to Holders and to sell the
securities represented by such rights, the Depositary will not distribute such
rights to the Holders unless and until a registration statement under the
Securities Act (or other applicable law) covering such offering is in effect. In
the event that the Company, the Depositary or the Custodian shall be required to
withhold and does withhold from any distribution of property (including rights)
an amount on account of taxes or other governmental charges, the amount
distributed to the Holders of American Depositary Shares representing such
Deposited Securities shall be reduced accordingly. In the event that the
Depositary determines that any distribution in property (including Eligible
Securities and rights to subscribe therefor) is subject to any tax or other
governmental charges which the Depositary is obligated to withhold, the
Depositary may dispose of all or a portion of such property (including Eligible
Securities and rights to subscribe therefor) in such amounts and in such manner,
including by public or private sale, as the Depositary deems necessary and
practicable to pay any such taxes or charges.
A-20
Because
ROC law presently does not contemplate the issuance of rights in negotiable form
and the possibility of such issuance is unlikely, a liquid market for rights may
not exist, and this may adversely affect (1) the ability of the Depositary to
dispose of such rights or (2) the amount the Depositary would realize upon
disposal of rights.
There can
be no assurance that Holders generally, or any Holder in particular, will be
given the opportunity to receive or exercise rights on the same terms and
conditions as the holders of Deposited Securities or be able to exercise such
rights. Nothing herein shall obligate the Company to file any registration
statement in respect of any rights or Eligible Securities or other securities to
be acquired upon the exercise of such rights.
Whenever
the Company intends to distribute to the holders of Deposited Securities
property other than cash, Eligible Securities or rights to purchase additional
Eligible Securities, the Company shall give timely notice thereof to the
Depositary and shall indicate whether or not it wishes such distribution to be
made to Holders of ADSs. Upon receipt of a notice indicating that the Company
wishes such distribution be made to Holders of ADSs, the Depositary shall
consult with the Company, and the Company shall assist the Depositary, to
determine whether such distribution to Holders is lawful and reasonably
practicable. The Depositary shall not make such distribution unless (i) the
Company shall have requested the Depositary to make such distribution to
Holders, (ii) the Depositary shall have received satisfactory documentation
within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, and (iii) the
Depositary shall have determined that such distribution is reasonably
practicable.
Upon
receipt of satisfactory documentation and the request of the Company to
distribute property to Holders of ADSs and after making the requisite
determinations set forth in the paragraph above, the Depositary shall distribute
the property so received to the Holders of record, as of the ADS Record Date, in
proportion to the number of ADSs held by them respectively and in such manner as
the Depositary may deem practicable for accomplishing such distribution (i) upon
receipt of payment or net of the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses
incurred by, the Depositary, and (ii) net of any taxes withheld. The Depositary
may dispose of all or a portion of the property so distributed and deposited, in
such amounts and in such manner (including by public or private sale) as the
Depositary, may deem practicable or necessary to satisfy any taxes (including
applicable interest and penalties) or other governmental charges applicable to
the distribution.
A-21
If (i)
the Company does not request the Depositary to make such distribution to Holders
or requests the Depositary not to make such distribution to Holders, (ii) the
Depositary does not receive satisfactory documentation within the terms of
Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, or (iii) the Depositary determines that
all or a portion of such distribution is not reasonably practicable, the
Depositary shall sell or cause such property to be sold in a public or private
sale, at such place or places and upon such terms as it may deem practicable and
shall (i) cause the proceeds of such sale, if any, to be converted into Dollars
and (ii) distribute the proceeds of such conversion received by the Depositary
(net of applicable (a) fees and charges of and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary and (b) taxes) to the Holders as of the ADS Record Date upon the
terms of Section 4.1 of the Deposit Agreement. If the Depositary is unable to
sell such property, the Depositary may dispose of such property in any way it
deems reasonably practicable under the circumstances. Subject always to the laws
and regulations of the ROC and to the terms of Article IV of the Deposit
Agreement, distributions in respect of Deposited Securities that are held by the
Depositary in bearer form shall be made to the Depositary for the account of the
respective Holders of Receipts with respect to which any such distribution is
made upon due presentation by the Depositary or the Custodian to the Company of
any relevant coupons, talons, or certificates. The Company shall promptly notify
the Depositary of such distributions. The Depositary or the Custodian shall
promptly present such coupons, talons or certificates, as the case may be, in
connection with any such distribution.
(15) Redemption. If the
Company intends to exercise any right of redemption in respect of any of the
Deposited Securities, the Company shall give notice thereof to the Depositary at
least 60 days prior to the intended date of redemption which notice shall set
forth the particulars of the proposed redemption. Upon receipt of such (i)
notice and (ii) satisfactory documentation given by the Company to the
Depositary within the terms of Section 5.7 of the Deposit Agreement, and only if
the Depositary shall have determined that such proposed redemption is
practicable, the Depositary shall mail to each Holder a notice setting forth the
intended exercise by the Company of the redemption rights and any other
particulars set forth in the Company's notice to the Depositary. The Depositary
shall instruct the Custodian to present to the Company the Deposited Securities
in respect of which redemption rights are being exercised against payment of the
applicable redemption price. Upon receipt of confirmation from the Custodian
that the redemption has taken place and that funds representing the redemption
price have been received, the Depositary shall convert, transfer, and distribute
the proceeds (net of applicable (a) fees and charges of, and the reasonable
expenses incurred by, the Depositary, and (b) taxes), retire ADSs and cancel
ADRs upon delivery of such ADSs by Holders thereof and the terms set forth in
Sections 4.1 and 6.2 of the Deposit Agreement. If less than all outstanding
Deposited Securities are redeemed, the ADSs to be retired will be selected by
lot or on a pro rata basis, as may be determined by the Depositary. The
redemption price per ADS shall be the per share amount received by the
Depositary upon the redemption of the Deposited Securities represented by
American Depositary Shares (subject to the terms of Section 4.7 of the Deposit
Agreement and the applicable fees and charges of, and expenses incurred by, the
Depositary, and taxes) multiplied by the number of Deposited Securities
represented by each ADS redeemed.
A-22
(16) Fixing of ADS Record
Date. Whenever the Depositary shall receive notice of the fixing of a
record date by the Company for the determination of holders of Deposited
Securities entitled to receive any distribution (whether in cash, Eligible
Securities, rights, or other distribution), or whenever for any reason the
Depositary causes a change in the number of Eligible Securities that are
represented by each American Depositary Share, or whenever the Depositary shall
receive notice of any meeting of, or solicitation of consents or of
instructions, of holders of Deposited Securities, or whenever the Depositary
shall find it necessary or convenient in connection with the giving of any
notice, solicitation of any consent or any other matter, the Depositary shall
fix a record date (the "ADS Record Date") for the determination of the Holders
of Receipts who shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to give
instructions for the exercise of voting rights at any such meeting, to give or
withhold such consent, to receive such notice or solicitation or to otherwise
take action, or to exercise the rights of Holders with respect to such changed
number of Eligible Securities represented by each American Depositary Share. The
Depositary shall make reasonable efforts to establish the ADS Record Date as
closely as possible to the applicable record date for the Deposited Securities
(if any). Subject to applicable law and the provisions of Section 4.1 through
4.7 of the Deposit Agreement and to the other terms and conditions of the
Deposit Agreement, only the Holders of Receipts at the close of business in New
York on such ADS Record Date shall be entitled to receive such distribution, to
give such voting instructions, to receive such notice or solicitation, or
otherwise take action.
A-23
(17) Voting of Deposited
Securities.
(a) Voting by ADS
Holders. Holders of ADSs have no individual voting rights with respect to
the Deposited Securities represented by their ADSs. Each Holder shall be deemed,
by acceptance of ADSs or acquisition of any beneficial interest therein, to have
authorized and directed the Depositary, without liability, to appoint the
Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company (or his/her designate) (the
"Voting Representative"), as representative of the Depositary, the Custodian or
the nominee who is registered in the ROC as representative of the Holders in
respect of the Deposited Securities (the "Registered Holder"), to vote the
Shares or other Deposited Securities in accordance with the terms
hereof.
The
Company agrees to timely notify the Depositary of any proposed shareholders'
meeting and to provide to the Depositary in New York, at least 24 calendar days
before any shareholders' meeting, sufficient copies as the Depositary may
reasonably request of English language translations of the Company's notice of
shareholders' meeting and the agenda of the materials to be voted on (in the
form the Company generally makes available to holders of Shares in the ROC),
including, without limitation, a list of candidates proposed by the Company for
an election of directors or supervisors (such materials collectively, the
"Shareholder Notice"). As soon as practicable after receipt by the Depositary of
the requisite number of Shareholder Notices, the Depositary shall establish the
ADS Record Date (upon the terms of Section 4.8 of the Deposit Agreement) and
shall, at the Company's expense and, provided no U.S. legal prohibitions exist,
deliver to Holders as of the applicable ADS Record Date, (i) the Shareholder
Notice, (ii) a depositary notice setting forth the manner in which Holders of
ADSs may instruct the Depositary to cause the Deposited Securities represented
by their ADSs to be voted under the terms of this Deposit Agreement including, a
description of the Management Instruction (as defined below), together with a
form of voting instructions and/or other means to provide voting instructions
(the depositary notice and the related materials prepared by the Depositary
collectively, the "Depositary Notice"). The Depositary is under no obligation to
deliver the Shareholder Notice and the Depositary Notice to Holders if the
Company has failed to provide to the Depositary in New York the requisite number
of Shareholder Notices at least 24 calendar days prior to the date of any
shareholders' meeting. If the Depositary has not delivered the Shareholder
Notice or Depositary Notice to Holders, it will endeavor to cause all Deposited
Securities represented by ADRs to be present at the relevant shareholders'
meeting insofar as practicable and permitted under applicable law but will not
cause the Shares or other Deposited Securities to be voted; provided, however,
that the Depositary may determine, at its sole discretion, to send such
Shareholder Notice and Depositary Notice to Holders and/or cause the Shares or
other Deposited Securities to be voted as it deems appropriate. There can be no
assurance that Holders generally or any Holder in particular will receive
Shareholder Notices and Depositary Notices with sufficient time to enable the
return of voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner.
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Notwithstanding
anything else contained in the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary shall not have
any obligation to take any action with respect to any meeting, or solicitation
of consents or instructions, of holders of Shares or other Deposited Securities
if the taking of such action would violate U.S. laws.
(b) Voting of Deposited
Securities Upon ADS Holders' Instructions. If Holders of ADSs together
holding at least 51% of all the ADSs (including Temporary ADSs) outstanding as
of the relevant ADS Record Date shall instruct the Depositary, prior to the date
established for such purpose by the Depositary, to vote in the same manner in
respect of one or more resolutions to be proposed at a shareholders' meeting
(including resolutions for the election directors and/or supervisors), the
Depositary shall notify to and appoint the Voting Representative as the
representative of the Depositary and the Registered Holder to attend such
shareholders' meeting and vote all Deposited Securities evidenced by ADSs then
outstanding (including Temporary ADSs) in the manner so instructed by such
Holders. If voting instructions are received by the Depositary on or before the
date established by the Depositary for the receipt of such instructions from any
Holder as of the ADS Record Date, which are signed but without further
indication as to voting instructions, the Depositary shall deem such Holder to
have instructed a vote in favor of the items set forth in such instructions. The
Depositary and Custodian shall not have any obligation to monitor, and shall not
incur any liability for, the actions, or the failure to act, of the Voting
Representative as representative of the Registered Holder.
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(c) Management
Instruction. If, for any reason (other than a failure by the Company to
supply the requisite number of Shareholder Notices to the Depositary within the
requisite time period provided in Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement), the
Depositary has not, prior to the date established for such purpose by the
Depositary received instructions from Holders together holding at least 51% of
all ADSs (including Temporary ADSs) outstanding at the relevant ADS Record Date,
to vote in the same manner in respect of any resolution (including resolutions
for the election of directors and/or supervisors), then, subject to the
following paragraph, the Holders shall be deemed to have authorized and directed
the Depositary to give a discretionary instruction (a "Management Instruction")
to the Voting Representative as the representative of the Registered Holder to
attend and vote at such meeting all the Deposited Securities represented by ADSs
then outstanding (including Temporary ADSs) in his or her discretion. In such
circumstances, the Voting Representative shall be free to exercise the votes
attaching to the Deposited Securities in any manner he or she wishes, which may
not be in the interests of the Holders.
The
Depositary's grant of a Management Instruction in the manner and circumstances
described in the preceding paragraph shall be subject to the receipt by the
Depositary prior to each shareholders' meeting of an opinion of ROC counsel of
the Company addressed to, and in form and substance satisfactory to, the
Depositary to the effect that under ROC law (i) the arrangements relating to the
Management Instruction are permissible, and (ii) the Depositary will not be
deemed to be authorized to exercise any discretion when causing the voting in
accordance with Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement and will not be subject to
any potential liability under ROC law for losses arising from such voting. In
the event the Depositary does not receive such opinion, the Depositary will not
grant the Management Instruction but will cause the Deposited Securities to be
present at the shareholders' meeting to the extent practicable and permitted by
applicable law but will not cause the Deposited Securities to be voted or the
Management Instruction to be granted.
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The
Depositary shall not, and the Depositary shall ensure that the Custodian and its
nominees do not, vote or attempt to exercise the right to vote that attaches to
the Shares or other Deposited Securities, other than in accordance with
instructions given in accordance with Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement. The
terms of Section 4.9 of the Deposit Agreement may be amended from time to time
in accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement. By continuing to hold
ADSs after the effective time of such amendment all Holders and Beneficial
Owners shall be deemed to have agreed to the terms of Section 4.9 of the Deposit
Agreement as so amended.
(d) There
is no guarantee that Holders generally or any Holder in particular will receive
the notice described above with sufficient time to enable such Holder to return
any voting instructions to the Depositary in a timely manner.
(18) Changes Affecting Deposited
Securities. Upon any change in nominal or par value, split-up,
cancellation, consolidation or any other reclassification of Deposited
Securities, or upon any recapitalization, reorganization, merger or
consolidation or sale of assets affecting the Company or to which it is a party,
any securities which shall be received by the Depositary or the Custodian in
exchange for, or in conversion of or replacement of or otherwise in respect of,
such Deposited Securities shall, to the extent permitted by law, be treated as
new Deposited Securities under the Deposit Agreement, and the Receipts shall,
subject to the provisions of the Deposit Agreement and applicable law, evidence
ADSs representing the right to receive such additional or replacement
securities, as applicable. The Depositary may, after consultation with the
Company, subject to the terms of the Deposit Agreement and receipt of
satisfactory documentation contemplated by the Deposit Agreement, execute and
deliver additional or replacement Receipts as in the case of a dividend of
Eligible Securities, or call for the surrender of outstanding Receipts to be
exchanged for new Receipts, in either case, as well as in the event of newly
deposited Shares, with necessary modifications to the form of Receipt contained
in this Exhibit A to the Deposit Agreement, specifically describing such new
Deposited Securities or corporate change. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the
event that any security so received may not be lawfully distributed to some or
all Holders, the Depositary may, after consultation with the Company, subject to
receipt of satisfactory legal documentation contemplated in the Deposit
Agreement, sell such securities at public or private sale, at such place or
places and upon such terms as it may deem proper and may allocate the net
proceeds of such sales (net of (a) fees and charges of, and reasonable expenses
incurred by, the Depositary and (b) taxes) for the account of the Holders
otherwise entitled to such securities upon an averaged or other practicable
basis without regard to any distinctions among such Holders and distribute the
net proceeds so allocated to the extent practicable as in the case of a
distribution received in cash pursuant to the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary
shall not be responsible for (i) any failure to determine that it may be lawful
or feasible to make such securities available to Holders in general or any
Holder in particular, (ii) any foreign exchange exposure or loss incurred in
connection with such sale, or (iii) any liability to the purchaser of such
securities.
A-27
(19) Exoneration. Neither
the Depositary nor the Company, or any of their respective agents, shall be
obligated to do or perform any act which is inconsistent with the provisions of
the Deposit Agreement or incur any liability (i) if the Depositary, the Company
or any of their respective agents shall be prevented or forbidden from, or
delayed in, doing or performing any act or thing required by the terms of the
Deposit Agreement, by reason of any provision of any present or future law,
rule, regulation, fiat, order or decree of the United States, the ROC or any
other country, or of any other governmental authority or regulatory authority or
stock exchange or market or automated quotation system, or on account of the
possible criminal or civil penalties or restraint, or by reason of any
provision, present or future of the Articles of Incorporation of the Company or
any provision of or governing any Deposited Securities, or by reason of any act
of God or war or other circumstances beyond its control (including, without
limitation, nationalization, expropriation, terrorism, currency restrictions,
work stoppage, strikes, civil unrest, revolutions, rebellions, explosions and
computer failure), (ii) by reason of any exercise of, or failure to exercise,
any discretion provided for in the Deposit Agreement or in the Articles of
Incorporation of the Company or provisions of or governing Deposited Securities,
(iii) for any action or inaction in reliance upon the advice of or information
from legal counsel, accountants, any person presenting Shares for deposit, any
Holder, any Beneficial Owner or authorized representative thereof, or any other
person believed by it in good faith to be competent to give such advice or
information, or (iv) for the inability by a Holder or Beneficial Owner to
benefit from any distribution, offering, right or other benefit which is made
available to holders of Deposited Securities but is not, under the terms of the
Deposit Agreement, made available to Holders of American Depositary Shares or
(v) for any indirect, special, punitive or consequential damages (including,
without limitation, lost profits) of any form incurred by any person or entity,
whether or not foreseeable and regardless of the type of action in which such a
claim may be brought. The Depositary shall be under no obligation to inform
Holders or any other holders of an interest in any Receipt about the
requirements of ROC law or any changes therein or thereto.
A-28
Notwithstanding
anything to the contrary set forth in the Deposit Agreement or an American
Depositary Receipt, the Depositary and its agents may fully respond to any and
all demands or requests for information maintained by or on its behalf in
connection with the Deposit Agreement, any Holder or Holders, any Receipt or
Receipts or otherwise related hereto or thereto to the extent such information
is requested or required by or pursuant to any lawful authority, including
without limitation laws, rules, regulations, administrative or judicial process,
banking, securities or other regulators. None of the
Depositary, the Custodian or the Company shall be liable for the failure by any
Holder or Beneficial Owner to obtain the benefits of credits on the basis of
non-U.S. tax paid against such Holder's or Beneficial Owner's income tax
liability. The Depositary and the Company shall not incur any liability for any
tax consequences that may be incurred by Holders and beneficial owners on
account of their ownership of the Receipts or ADSs.
The
Depositary, its controlling persons, its agents, any Custodian and the Company,
its controlling persons and its agents may rely and shall be protected in acting
upon any written notice, request or other document believed by it to be genuine
and to have been signed or presented by the proper party or
parties.
No
disclaimer of liability under the Securities Act is intended by any provision of
the Deposit Agreement.
(20) Standard of Care. The
Company and its agents assume no obligation and shall not be subject to any
liability under the Deposit Agreement or the Receipts to Holders or Beneficial
Owners or other persons, except that the Company and its agents agree to perform
their obligations specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement without gross
negligence or wilfull misconduct.
A-29
The
Depositary and its agents assume no obligation and shall not be subject to any
liability under the Deposit Agreement or the Receipts to Holders or Beneficial
Owners or other persons, except that the Depositary and its agents agree to
perform their obligations specifically set forth in the Deposit Agreement
without gross negligence or wilfull misconduct.
Without
limitation of the foregoing, (a) neither the Company, nor any of its controlling
persons, or agents, shall be under any obligation to appear in, prosecute or
defend any action, suit or other proceeding in respect of any Deposited
Securities or in respect of the Receipts, which in its opinion may involve it in
expense or liability, unless indemnity satisfactory to it against all expense
(including fees and disbursements of counsel) and liability be furnished as
often as may be required and (b) neither the Depositary nor any of its
controlling persons, or agents (and no Custodian shall be under any obligation
whatsoever with respect to such proceedings, the responsibility of the Custodian
being solely to the Depositary), shall be made a party to or under any
obligation to appear in, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other
proceeding in respect of any Deposited Securities or in respect of the
Receipts.
The
Depositary and its agents shall not be liable for any failure to carry out any
instructions to vote any of the Deposited Securities, for the manner in which
any vote is cast (provided that any such act or omission is in good faith) or
for the effect of any vote. The Depositary shall not incur any liability for any
failure to determine that any distribution or action may be lawful or reasonably
practicable, for the content of any information submitted to it by the Company
for distribution to the Holders or for any inaccuracy of any translation
thereof, for any investment risk associated with acquiring an interest in the
Deposited Securities, for the validity or worth of the Deposited Securities or
for any tax consequences that may result from the ownership of ADSs, Shares or
Deposited Securities, for the credit-worthiness of any third party, for allowing
any rights to lapse upon the terms of this Deposit Agreement or for the failure
or timeliness of any notice from the Company or for the failure of the Company
to exchange any Certificate of Payment into Shares. The Depositary shall not be
responsible for any failure to determine that it may be lawful or feasible to
make Rights available to Holders in general or to any Holder in particular or be
liable or responsible for the manner in which any purchase or sale of Shares
occurs or the price paid or received therefore. The Depositary shall not be
liable for the acts or omissions made by any securities depository, clearing
agency or settlement system in connection with or arising out of book-entry
settlement of Deposited Securities or otherwise. The
Depositary shall not be responsible for, and shall incur no liability in
connection with or arising from, the insolvency of any Custodian that is not a
branch or affiliate of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. or for the failure of the
Company to exchange any Certificate of Payment into Shares. The
Depositary shall not be obligated in any way to monitor or enforce the
obligations of the Company, including, without limitation, in respect of any
Certificate of Payment, the conversion of such Certificate of Payment into
Shares.
A-30
(21) Resignation and Removal of
the Depositary; Appointment of Successor Depositary. The Depositary may
at any time resign as Depositary under the Deposit Agreement by written notice
of resignation delivered to the Company, such resignation to be effective on the
earlier of (i) the 60th day after delivery thereof to the Company (whereupon the
Depositary shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 of
the Deposit Agreement), or (ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a
successor depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter
provided. The Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written
notice of such removal, which removal shall be effective on the earlier of (i)
the 60th day after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary
shall be entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 of the Deposit
Agreement), or (ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a successor
depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter
provided.
The
Depositary may at any time be removed by the Company by written notice of such
removal, which removal shall be effective on the earlier of (i) the 60th day
after delivery thereof to the Depositary (whereupon the Depositary shall be
entitled to take the actions contemplated in Section 6.2 of the Deposit
Agreement), or (ii) upon the appointment by the Company of a successor
depositary and its acceptance of such appointment as hereinafter
provided.
A-31
In case
at any time the Depositary acting under the Deposit Agreement shall resign or be
removed, the Company shall use its best efforts to appoint a successor
depositary, which shall be a bank or trust company having an office in the
Borough of Manhattan, The City of New York. Every successor depositary shall be
required by the Company to execute and deliver to its immediate predecessor and
to the Company an instrument in writing accepting its appointment under the
Deposit Agreement, and thereupon such successor depositary, without any further
act or deed (except as required by applicable law), shall become fully vested
with all the rights, powers, duties and obligations of its immediate predecessor
(other than as contemplated in Section 5.8 and 5.9 of the Deposit Agreement).
The immediate predecessor depositary, upon payment of all sums due it and on the
written request of the Company shall, (i) execute and deliver an instrument
transferring to such successor all rights and powers of such predecessor
hereunder (other than as contemplated in Sections 5.8 and 5.9 of the Deposit
Agreement), (ii) duly assign, transfer and deliver all right, title and interest
to the Deposited Securities to such successor, and (iii) deliver to such
successor a list of the Holders of all outstanding Receipts and such other
information relating to Receipts and Holders thereof as the successor may
reasonably request. Any such successor depositary shall promptly mail notice of
its appointment to such Holders.
Any
corporation into or with which the Depositary may be merged or consolidated
shall be the successor of the Depositary without the execution or filing of any
document or any further act.
(22) Amendment/Supplement.
This Receipt and any provisions of the Deposit Agreement may at any time and
from time to time be amended or supplemented by written agreement between the
Company and the Depositary in any respect which they may deem necessary or
desirable without the prior written consent of the Holders or Beneficial Owners.
Any amendment or supplement which shall impose or increase any fees or charges
(other than the charges in connection with foreign exchange control regulations,
and taxes and other governmental charges, delivery and other such expenses), or
which shall otherwise prejudice any substantial existing right of Holders or
Beneficial Owners, shall not, however, become effective as to this Receipt until
the expiration of 30 days after notice of such amendment or supplement shall
have been given to the Holders of this Receipt. The parties hereto agree that
any amendments or supplements which (i) are reasonably necessary (as agreed by
the Company and the Depositary) in order for (a) the ADSs to be registered on
Form F-6 under the Securities Act or (b) the ADSs to be traded solely in
electronic book-entry form and (ii) do not in either such case impose or
increase any fees or charges to be borne by Holders, shall be deemed not to
materially prejudice any substantial rights of Holders or Beneficial Owners.
Every Holder and Beneficial Owner at the time any amendment or supplement so
becomes effective shall be deemed, by continuing to hold such ADS(s), to consent
and agree to such amendment or supplement and to be bound by the Deposit
Agreement as amended or supplemented thereby. In no event shall any amendment or
supplement impair the right of the Holder to surrender such Receipt and receive
therefor the Deposited Securities represented thereby, except in order to comply
with mandatory provisions of applicable law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if
any governmental body or regulatory body should adopt new laws, rules or
regulations which would require amendment or supplement of the Deposit Agreement
or the form of Receipt to ensure compliance therewith, the Company and the
Depositary may amend or supplement the Deposit Agreement and the Receipts at any
time in accordance with such changed laws, rules or regulations. Such
amendment or supplement to the Deposit Agreement in such circumstances may
become effective before a notice of such amendment or supplement is given to
Holders or within any other period of time as required for compliance. Notice of
any amendment to the Deposit Agreement or form of Receipts shall not need to
describe in detail the specific amendments effectuated thereby, and failure to
describe the specific amendments in any such notice shall not render such notice
invalid, provided, however, that, in each such case, the notice given to the
Holders identifies a means for Holders to retrieve or receive the text of such
amendment (i.e., upon retrieval from the Securities and Exchange Commission's,
the Depositary's or the Company's website or upon request from the
Depositary).
A-32
(23) Termination. The
Depositary shall, at any time at the written direction of the Company, terminate
the Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the Holders of
all Receipts then outstanding at least 30 days prior to the date fixed in such
notice for such termination. If 60 days shall have expired after (i) the
Depositary shall have delivered to the Company a written notice of its election
to resign, or (ii) the Company shall have delivered to the Depositary a written
notice of the removal of the Depositary, and in either case a successor
depositary shall not have been appointed and accepted its appointment as
provided herein and in the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may terminate the
Deposit Agreement by mailing notice of such termination to the Holders of all
Receipts then outstanding at least 30 days prior to the date fixed for such
termination. On and after the date of termination of the Deposit Agreement, the
Holder of this Receipt will, upon surrender of this Receipt at the Principal
Office of the Depositary, upon the payment of the charges of the Depositary for
the surrender of ADSs referred to in Article (2) hereof and in the Deposit
Agreement and subject to the conditions and restrictions set forth therein and
subject always to the restrictions on withdrawal as may be in effect under the
laws and regulations of the ROC, and upon payment of any applicable taxes or
governmental charges, be entitled to Delivery, to him or upon his order, of the
amount of Deposited Securities represented by such Receipt. If any Receipts
shall remain outstanding after the date of termination of the Deposit Agreement,
the Registrar thereafter shall discontinue the registration of transfers of
Receipts, and the Depositary shall suspend the distribution of dividends to the
Holders thereof, and shall not give any further notices or perform any further
acts under the Deposit Agreement, except that the Depositary shall continue to
collect dividends and other distributions pertaining to Deposited Securities,
shall sell rights as provided in the Deposit Agreement, and shall continue to
deliver Deposited Securities, subject to the conditions and restrictions set
forth in the Deposit Agreement, together with any dividends or other
distributions received with respect thereto and the net proceeds of the sale of
any rights or other property, in exchange for Receipts surrendered to the
Depositary (after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case, the
charges of the Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any expenses for the
account of the Holder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit
Agreement and any applicable taxes or governmental charges or assessments). At
any time after the expiration of six months from the date of termination of the
Deposit Agreement, the Depositary may sell the Deposited Securities then held
hereunder and may thereafter hold uninvested the net proceeds of any such sale,
together with any other cash then held by it hereunder, in an unsegregated
account, without liability for interest for the pro rata benefit of the Holders
whose Receipts have not theretofore been surrendered such Holders thereupon
becoming general creditors of the Depositary with respect to such net proceeds.
After making such sale, the Depositary shall be discharged from all obligations
under the Deposit Agreement with respect to the Receipts, the Deposited
Securities and the ADSs, except to account for such net proceeds and other cash
(after deducting, or charging, as the case may be, in each case the charges of
the Depositary for the surrender of a Receipt, any expenses for the account of
the Holder in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Deposit Agreement
and any applicable taxes or governmental charges or assessments). Upon the
termination of the Deposit Agreement, the Company shall be discharged from all
obligations under the Deposit Agreement except as set forth in the Deposit
Agreement.
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(24) Compliance with U.S.
Securities Laws. Notwithstanding any provisions in this Receipt or the
Deposit Agreement to the contrary, the withdrawal or delivery of Deposited
Securities will not be suspended by the Company or the Depositary except as
would be permitted by Section I.A.(1) of the General Instructions to the Form
F-6 Registration Statement, as amended from time to time, under the Securities
Act of 1933.
(25) Certain Rights of the
Depositary; Limitations. Subject to the further terms and provisions of
this Article (25), the Depositary, its Affiliates and their agents, on their own
behalf, may own and deal in any class of securities of the Company and its
Affiliates and in ADSs. In its capacity as Depositary, the Depositary shall not
lend Eligible Securities or ADSs; provided, however, that, subject to ROC law
and regulations, the Depositary may (i) issue ADSs prior to the receipt of
Eligible Securities pursuant to Section 2.3 of the Deposit Agreement and (ii)
deliver Eligible Securities upon the receipt of ADSs for cancellation upon
withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant to Section 2.7 of the Deposit
Agreement, including ADSs which were issued under (i) above but for which
Eligible Securities may not have been received (each such transaction a
"Pre-Release Transaction"). The Depositary may receive ADSs in lieu of Eligible
Securities under (i) above and receive Eligible Securities in lieu of ADSs under
(ii) above. Each such Pre-Release Transaction will be (a) subject to a written
agreement whereby the person or entity (the "Applicant") to whom ADSs or
Eligible Securities are to be delivered (w) represents that at the time of the
Pre-Release Transaction the Applicant or its customer owns the Eligible
Securities or ADSs that are to be delivered by the Applicant under such
Pre-Release Transaction, (x) agrees to indicate the Depositary as owner of such
Eligible Securities or ADSs in its records and to hold such Eligible Securities
or ADSs in trust for the Depositary until such Eligible Securities or ADSs are
delivered to the Depositary or the Custodian, (y) unconditionally guarantees to
deliver to the Depositary or the Custodian, as applicable, such Eligible
Securities or ADSs, and (z) agrees to any additional restrictions or
requirements that the Depositary deems appropriate, (b) at all times fully
collateralized with cash, United States government securities or such other
collateral as the Depositary deems appropriate, (c) terminable by the Depositary
on not more than five (5) business days' notice and (d) subject to such further
indemnities and credit regulations as the Depositary deems appropriate.
Notwithstanding any other provision of the Deposit Agreement, the Depositary
shall not issue ADSs prior to the receipt of Eligible Securities in the case of
the deposit of Eligible Securities to be made by the Company in connection with
an offering of ADSs or pursuant to Sections 4.2 or 4.3 of the Deposit Agreement,
unless requested by the Company and to the extent permitted by applicable
law.
A-34
The
Depositary will normally limit the number of ADSs involved in new Pre-Release
Transactions at any one time to thirty percent (30%) of the ADSs outstanding
(without giving effect to ADSs outstanding under (i) above), provided, however,
that the Depositary reserves the right to disregard such limit from time to time
as it deems appropriate, and may, with the prior written consent of the Company,
change such limit for purposes of general application.
The
Depositary may also set limits with respect to the number of ADSs involved in
Pre-Release Transactions with any one person on a case by case basis as it deems
appropriate. The Depositary may retain for its own account any compensation
received by it in conjunction with the foregoing. Collateral provided pursuant
to (b) above, but not the earnings thereon, shall be held for the benefit of the
Holders (other than the Applicant). Neither Temporary ADSs nor any interest in
any Payment Certificate shall be eligible for Pre-Release-Transactions under the
Deposit Agreement.
A-35
(26) Right to Submit Proposals at
Annual Ordinary Meeting of Shareholders.
(a) Proposals by
Shareholders. The Company has informed the Depositary that under ROC
Company Law, as in effect as of the date of the Deposit Agreement, holders of
one percent (1%) or more of the total issued and outstanding Shares (including
the treasury Shares) of the Company as of the applicable record date for
determining holders of Shares with the right to vote at an annual ordinary
meeting of the Company's shareholders (the "Shareholder Proposal Record Date"),
are entitled to submit one (1) written proposal (the "Proposal") each year for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders,
provided that: (i) the Proposal is in the traditional Chinese language and does
not exceed 300 Chinese characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal, all
accompanying supporting statements and all punctuation marks) in length, (ii)
the Proposal is submitted to the Company during the period for submission of
Proposals (the "Submission Period") announced by the Company (it being agreed by
the Company that the Company shall announce publicly each year the Submission
Period and the place for eligible shareholders to submit the Proposal in a
report on Form 6-K submitted to the Commission prior to the commencement of the
60 days closed period prior to the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders), (iii) only one (1) matter for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders shall be allowed in each
Proposal, and (iv) the proposing shareholder shall attend, in person or by a
proxy, such annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders whereat his or
her or its Proposal is to be discussed in the Chinese language and such
proposing shareholder, or his or her or its proxy, shall take part in the
discussion of such Proposal in the Chinese language. For the avoidance of doubt,
shareholders shall have no right to nominate candidates for election as
directors at a meeting of the Company's shareholders pursuant to the Articles of
Incorporation of the Company, as in effect on the date hereof. As the holder of
the Deposited Securities, the Depositary or its nominee is entitled, provided
the conditions of ROC law are satisfied, to submit only one (1) Proposal each
year in respect of all of the Shares held on deposit as of the applicable
Shareholder Proposal Record Date. Holders and Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not
under ROC law have individual rights to submit Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders but
may be able to submit Proposals to the Company for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders if the Beneficial Owners (i)
timely present their ADSs to the Depositary for cancellation pursuant to the
terms of the Deposit Agreement and become holders of Shares in the ROC prior to
the expiration of the Submission Period and prior to the applicable Shareholder
Proposal Record Date, and (ii) otherwise satisfy the conditions of ROC law
applicable to the submission of Proposals to the Company for consideration at an
annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders. Beneficial Owners of ADSs
may not receive sufficient advance notice of an annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders to enable the timely withdrawal of Shares to make a
Proposal to the Company and may not be able to re-deposit under the Deposit
Agreement the Shares so withdrawn. The Company has informed the Depositary that
a Proposal shall only be voted upon at the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders if the Proposal is accepted by the board of directors of
the Company as eligible in accordance with Article 172-1 of the ROC Company Law
and the Company's Articles of Incorporation for consideration at an annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders. In addition, the Company has no
obligation to give notice of noncompliance and/or opportunity to cure for any
Proposal which fails to satisfy the requirements and conditions of the ROC
laws.
A-36
(b) Single Proposal by
Depositary or its Nominee on behalf of Beneficial Owners. Holders and
Beneficial Owners of ADSs do not have individual proposal rights. The Depositary
will, if so requested by (a) Beneficial Owner(s) as of the applicable ADS Record
Date that own(s), individually or as a group, at least 51% of the ADSs
outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date (such Beneficial Owner(s), the
"Submitting Holder(s)"), submit to the Company for consideration at the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders one (1) Proposal each year,
provided that: (i) the Proposal submitted to the Depositary by the Submitting
Holder(s) is in the traditional Chinese language or in English language along
with traditional Chinese translation and does not exceed 300 traditional Chinese
characters (including the reason(s) for the Proposal, all accompanying
supporting statements, and all punctuation marks) in length and in the case of
English proposal, the length and the content of the proposal shall be determined
based on the Chinese translation, (ii) the Proposal is submitted to the
Depositary by the Submitting Holder(s) at least two (2) Business Days prior to
the expiration of the Submission Period, (iii) the Proposal is accompanied by a
written certificate signed by each Submitting Holder, addressed to the
Depositary and the Company and in a form satisfactory to the Depositary and the
Company (the "First Proposal Certificate"), certifying, inter alia, (w) that
each Submitting Holder has only certified the said Proposal, (x) that the
Submitting Holder(s) own(s), individually or in the aggregate, at least 51% of
the ADSs outstanding as of the date the Proposal is submitted by the Submitting
Holder(s) to the Depositary (the "Proposal Submission Date"), (y) if the
Proposal Submission Date is (i) on or after the applicable ADS Record Date, that
the Submitting Holder(s) owned at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the
applicable ADS Record Date, and (ii) prior to the applicable ADS Record Date,
that the Submitting Holder(s) will continue to own at least 51% of the ADSs
outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date and will provide the Second
Proposal Certificate, as defined below, and (z) the name(s) and address(es) of
the Submitting Holder(s) and the number of ADSs owned by each Submitting Holder
(together with certified evidence of each Submitting Holder's ownership of the
applicable ADSs as of the Proposal Submission Date, in the case of (y)(ii)
above, and the applicable ADS Record Date, in the case of (y)(i) above)), (iv)
if the Proposal Submission Date is prior to the applicable ADS Record Date, the
Submitting Holder(s) must also provide, within five (5) Business Days after the
applicable ADS Record Date, a second written certificate signed by each
Submitting Holder, addressed to the Depositary and the Company and in a form
satisfactory to the Depositary and the Company (the "Second Proposal
Certificate"), certifying, inter alia, that the Submitting Holder(s) continued
to own at least 51% of the ADSs outstanding as of the applicable ADS Record Date
(together with certified evidence of each Submitting Holder's ownership of the
applicable ADSs as of such applicable ADS Record Date), (v) the Proposal is
accompanied by a joint and several irrevocable undertaking of all Submitting
Holders (which undertaking may be contained in the First Proposal Certificate or
the Second Proposal Certificate) that each such Submitting Holder shall pay all
fees and expenses incurred in relation to the submission of the Proposal for
voting at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders (including,
but not limited to, the costs and expenses of the Submitting Holder(s), or his,
her, its or their representative, to attend the annual ordinary meeting of the
Company's shareholders), (vi) the Shares registered in the name of the
Depositary or its nominee as representative of the Holders and Beneficial Owners
constitute one percent (1%) or more of the total issued and outstanding Shares
(including the treasury Shares) of the Company as of the Shareholder Proposal
Record Date, (vii) such Proposal contains only one (1) matter for consideration
at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders, and (viii) the
Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, attend(s) the
annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders and take(s) part in the
discussions of the Proposal in the Chinese language, provided further that only
one (1) individual may attend, and take part in the discussion of the Proposal
at such annual ordinary meeting on behalf of all Submitting Holders. Each
Beneficial Owner hereby agrees and acknowledges that (i) if the Submitting
Holder(s), or his, her, its or their representative, does not attend the annual
ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders, the chairman of such meeting may
ask the attending shareholders to discuss, or not discuss, the Proposal, and
(ii) in no event shall a Submitting Holder's, or his, her, its or their
representative's, presence at an annual ordinary meeting of the Company's
shareholders entitle such Submitting Holder(s), or his, her, its or their
representative, to vote the Shares represented by such Submitting Holder's ADSs
(or any other ADSs) or to vote the Shares represented by all the outstanding
ADSs at such annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders.
A-37
Upon the
timely receipt by the Depositary of any Proposal which the Depositary reasonably
believes to be in full compliance with the immediately preceding paragraph, the
Depositary shall submit a copy of such Proposal and of the other materials
received from the Submitting Holder(s) to the Company during the Submission
Period. Any Proposal so submitted as to which the Depositary has not received
within five (5) Business Days after the applicable ADS Record Date any Second
Proposal Certificate required under the immediately preceding paragraph shall be
deemed irrevocably withdrawn at the expiration of such five (5) Business Day
period. In the event the Depositary receives more than one (1) Proposal by a
Submitting Holder, or a group of Submitting Holders, each of which appears to
satisfy the requirements set forth in the immediately preceding paragraph, the
Depositary is hereby authorized and instructed to disregard all Proposals,
except for the first Proposal, received by the Depositary from such Submitting
Holder(s) and shall submit only the first of such Proposals to the Company for
consideration at the annual ordinary meeting of the Company's shareholders in
accordance with the terms of the Deposit Agreement. The Depositary shall not
have any obligation to verify the accuracy of the information contained in any
document submitted to it by the Submitting Holder(s). Neither the Depositary nor
its nominee shall be obligated to attend and speak at the annual ordinary
meeting of the Company's shareholders on behalf of the Submitting Holder(s). The
Proposal submitted by the Depositary is still subject to review by the board of
directors of the Company and there is no assurance that the Proposal will be
accepted by the board of directors and will be included in the agenda of the
ordinary shareholders' meeting. In addition, if the Company determines that, at
the discretion of the Company, the Proposal submitted by the Depositary does not
qualify, the Company has no obligation to notify the Depositary or to allow the
Depositary to modify such Proposal.
A-38
Notwithstanding
anything contained in the Deposit Agreement or any ADR and except that the
Depositary shall arrange, at the request of the Company and at the Company's
expense, for the mailing to Holders of copies of materials that the Company has
made available to the Depositary for such purpose, the Depositary shall not be
obligated to provide to the Holders or Beneficial Owners of ADSs any notices
relating to the proposal rights, including, without limitation, notice of the
Submission Period, or the receipt of any Proposal(s) from Submitting Holders, or
of the holdings of any ADSs by any persons, except that the Depositary shall,
upon a Holder's request, inform such Holder of the total number of ADSs then
issued and outstanding.
(27) Waiver. EACH
PARTY TO THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT (INCLUDING, FOR AVOIDANCE OF DOUBT, EACH HOLDER
AND BENEFICIAL OWNER AND/OR HOLDER OF INTERESTS IN ANY AMERICAN DEPOSITARY
SHARES) HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE
LAW, ANY RIGHT IT MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY SUIT, ACTION OR PROCEEDING
AGAINST THE DEPOSITARY AND/OR THE COMPANY DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY ARISING OUT OF
OR RELATING TO THE SHARES OR OTHER DEPOSITED SECURITIES, THE ADSs OR THE ADRs,
THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT OR ANY TRANSACTION CONTEMPLATED HEREIN OR THEREIN, OR THE
BREACH HEREOF OR THEREOF (WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT, COMMON LAW OR ANY
OTHER THEORY).
A-39
(ASSIGNMENT
AND TRANSFER SIGNATURE LINES)
FOR VALUE
RECEIVED, the undersigned Holder hereby sell(s), assign(s) and transfer(s) unto
_____________________ whose taxpayer identification number is
_______________________________ and whose address including postal zip code is
__________________________ the within Receipt and all rights thereunder, hereby
irrevocably constituting and appointing _______________________________________
attorney-in-fact to transfer said Receipt on the books of the Depositary with
full power of substitution in the premises.
Dated:
|
Name:
|
||
By:
|
|||
Title:
|
|||
NOTICE:
The signature of the Holder to this assignment must correspond with the
name as written upon the face of the within instrument in every
particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change
whatsoever.
If
the endorsement be executed by an attorney, executor, administrator,
trustee or guardian, the person executing the endorsement must give
his/her full title in such capacity and proper evidence of authority to
act in such capacity, if not on file with the Depositary, must be
forwarded with this Receipt.
All
endorsements or assignments of Receipts must be guaranteed by a member of
a Medallion Signature Program approved by the Securities Transfer
Association, Inc.
SIGNATURE
GUARANTEED
|
A-40
EXHIBIT
B
FORM OF
CERTIFICATION UPON WITHDRAWAL
EXHIBIT
B-1
LONG
FORM
Certification
and Agreement of Persons Surrendering ADRs
for the
Purpose of Withdrawal of Deposited Securities
Pursuant
to Section 2.7 of the Deposit Agreement
JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A.
Four Xxx
Xxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: ADR
Administration
Fax:
(000) 000-0000
Re:
United Microelectronics Corporation
We refer
to the Amended and Restated Deposit Agreement, dated as of October 21, 2009 (as
further amended from time to time, the "Deposit Agreement"), among UNITED
MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION (the "Company"), JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as
Depositary thereunder, and Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of
American Depositary Shares (the "ADSs") evidenced by American Depositary
Receipts (the "ADRs") issued thereunder. Capitalized terms used but not defined
herein shall have the meanings given them in the Deposit Agreement. We are
providing the information herein to enable the Company to comply with its
reporting obligations under the laws and regulations of the Republic of China
and understand that the Company will rely upon the information provided herein
for such purpose.
1. We
are surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities
represented by the ADSs pursuant to Section 2.7 of the Deposit
Agreement.
2. We
agree (or if we are acting for the account of another person, such person has
confirmed to us that it agrees) to comply with all requests from the Company
pursuant to ROC laws or regulations, the rules and requirements of the Taiwan
Stock Exchange, any other stock exchange on which the ADSs or the Deposited
Securities are, or may be, traded or listed, and the Articles of Incorporation
and Bylaws of the Company, which are made to provide information, inter alia, as
to the capacity in which we (or our client) hold(s) or own(s) the ADSs or
Deposited Securities and regarding the identity of any other person then or
previously interested in such ADSs or Deposited Securities, the nature of such
interest and various related matters, whether or not we (they) are holders
and/or beneficial owners of ADSs or Deposited Securities at the time of such
request.
B-1-1
3. We
certify (or if we are acting for the account of another person, such person has
confirmed to us that it certifies) that:
Please
check the applicable box in (a) below and complete (b) in its
entirety.
(a)(i)
|_| Recipient of Deposited Securities withdrawn hereby ("Recipient") is a
"Related Person" of the Company (as defined below).
or
(ii)
|_| The aggregate number of Deposited Securities to be received by the Recipient
upon the surrender of ADSs for the withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant
to Section 2.7 of the Deposit Agreement will exceed ten percent (10%) of the
total number of Deposited Securities currently on deposit with the
Custodian.*
* To
determine the number of Deposited Securities on deposit, please visit the Taiwan
Stock Exchange's website at:
xxxx://xxxxx.xxx.xxx.xx/xxxxxx-xxxx/x00xxx00_x?xxxxx0&XXXXXxxxx
AND
(b)(i)
Recipient hereby withdraws ____________ Deposited Securities of the
Company,
AND
(ii)
Recipient has withdrawn an aggregate of ____________ Deposited Securities of the
Company during this calendar month.
AND
(iii)
We hereby certify (or if we are acting for the account of another person, such
person has confirmed to us that it certifies) that the following information is
true and correct:
Name of
Beneficial Owner of ADSs:
_______________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Address
of Beneficial Owner of ADSs:
_____________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Nationality
of Beneficial Owner of ADSs:
___________________________________________________________
Name of
Recipient:
____________________________________________________________________________
Nationality
of Recipient:
________________________________________________________________________
B-1-2
Identity
Number of Recipient (only required if Recipient is a ROC
person):
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Number of
ADSs surrendered hereby:
______________________________________________________________
Number of
Deposited Securities withdrawn hereby:
____________________________________________________
The
aggregate number of Deposited Securities Recipient has received upon all
withdrawals since execution of the Deposit
Agreement:
__________________________________________________________________________________
TDCC
Book-Entry Account Number of Recipient:
_____________________________________________________
TDCC
Book-Entry Account Name:
________________________________________________________________
Name of
Custodian (only required if Recipient is a non-ROC person):
______________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Address
of Custodian:
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Contact
Person at Custodian:
___________________________________________________________________
Telephone
Number of Custodian:
________________________________________________________________
Facsimile
Number of Custodian:
_________________________________________________________________
Foreign
Investor Investment I.D. (only required if Recipient is a non-ROC person):
___________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
4. If
we are a broker-dealer, we further certify that we are acting for the account of
our customer and that our customer has confirmed the accuracy of the information
contained in paragraph 3 hereof that is applicable to it.
Date:
____________________
Very
truly yours,
[NAME
OF CERTIFYING ENTITY]
By:
_______________________________
Name
Title:
A person
or entity is deemed to be a "Related Person" of the Company if the person or
entity is:
(a)
|
(i)
|
a
company of which the chairman of the board of directors or the general
manager serves as the chairman of the board of directors or the general
manager of the Company, or is the spouse or a relative by blood or
marriage to the chairman of the board of directors or general manager of
the Company within the second degree (as defined under the Civil Code of
the Republic of China);
|
|
(ii)
|
a
non-profit organization of which the funds donated from the Company
exceeds one-third of the non-profit organization's total
funds;
|
B-1-3
|
(iii)
|
a
director, supervisor or general manager, vice-general manager, assistant
general manager, or departmental head of the Company reporting to the
general manager of the Company;
|
|
(iv)
|
the
spouse of a director, supervisor or general manager of the Company;
or
|
|
(v)
|
a
relative by blood or marriage to the Company's chairman of the board of
directors or general manager within the second degree (as defined under
the Civil Code of the Republic of
China).
|
or
(b) A
person or entity in which the Company has invested, which investment is
accounted for by the equity method of accounting under generally accepted
accounting principles in the Republic of China (the "Equity Method"), or a
person or entity which uses the Equity Method to account for an investment in
the Company.
B-1-4
EXHIBIT
B-2
SHORT
FORM
Certification
and Agreement of Persons Surrendering ADRs
for the
Purpose of Withdrawal of Deposited Securities
Pursuant
to Section 2.7 of the Deposit Agreement
JPMorgan
Chase Bank, N.A.
Four Xxx
Xxxx Xxxxx
Xxx Xxxx,
Xxx Xxxx 00000
Attention: ADR
Administration
Fax:
(000) 000-0000
Re:
United Microelectronics Corporation
We refer
to the Amended and Restated Deposit Agreement, dated as of October 21, 2009 (as
further amended from time to time, the "Deposit Agreement"), among UNITED
MICROELECTRONICS CORPORATION (the "Company"), JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., as
Depositary thereunder, and Holders and Beneficial Owners from time to time of
American Depositary Shares (the "ADSs") evidenced by American Depositary
Receipts (the "ADRs") issued thereunder. Capitalized terms used but not defined
herein shall have the meanings given them in the Deposit Agreement. We are
providing the information herein to enable the Company to comply with its
reporting obligations under the laws and regulations of the Republic of China
and understand that the Company will rely upon the information provided herein
for such purpose.
1. We
are surrendering ADSs for the purpose of withdrawal of the Deposited Securities
represented by the ADSs pursuant to Section 2.7 of the Deposit
Agreement.
2. We
agree (or if we are acting for the account of another person, such person has
confirmed to us that it agrees) to comply with all requests from the Company
pursuant to ROC laws or regulations, the rules and requirements of the Taiwan
Stock Exchange, any other stock exchange on which the ADSs or the Deposited
Securities are, or may be, traded or listed, and the Articles of Incorporation
and Bylaws of the Company, which are made to provide information, inter alia, as
to the capacity in which we (or our client) hold(s) or own(s) the ADSs or
Deposited Securities and regarding the identity of any other person then or
previously interested in such ADSs or Deposited Securities, the nature of such
interest and various related matters, whether or not we (they) are holders
and/or beneficial owners of ADSs or Deposited Securities at the time of such
request.
3. We
certify (or if we are acting for the account of another person, such person has
confirmed to us that it certifies) that the aggregate number of Deposited
Securities to be received by us (it) upon the surrender of ADSs for the
withdrawal of Deposited Securities pursuant to the Deposit Agreement does not
exceed ten percent (10%) of the total number of Deposited Securities currently
on deposit with the Custodian.(1)
B-2-1
4. We
certify (or if we are acting for the account of another person, such person has
confirmed to us that it certifies) that we are (it is) not a "Related Person" of
the Company (as defined below).(2)
Date:
____________________
Very
truly yours,
[NAME
OF CERTIFYING ENTITY]
By:
_____________________________
Name
Title:
(1)
PLEASE NOTE THAT IN ORDER TO ASCERTAIN THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEPOSITED SECURITIES
CURRENTLY ON DEPOSIT WITH THE CUSTODIAN, PLEASE VISIT THE TAIWAN STOCK
EXCHANGE'S WEBSITE AT: _________________________. PLEASE FURTHER NOTE
THAT IF YOU CANNOT CERTIFY (OR IF YOU ARE ACTING FOR THE ACCOUNT OF ANOTHER
PERSON, SUCH PERSON HAS CONFIRMED TO YOU THAT IT CANNOT CERTIFY) THAT THE
AGGREGATE NUMBER OF DEPOSITED SECURITIES TO BE RECEIVED UPON THE SURRENDER OF
ADSs FOR THE WITHDRAWAL OF DEPOSITED SECURITIES PURSUANT TO THE DEPOSIT
AGREEMENT WILL NOT EXCEED TEN PERCENT (10%) OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF DEPOSITED
SECURITIES CURRENTLY ON DEPOSIT WITH THE CUSTODIAN, YOU (IT) WILL NOT BE ABLE TO
SURRENDER ADSs IN ORDER TO WITHDRAW DEPOSITED SECURITIES (OR GIVE INSTRUCTIONS
TO DO SO) USING THIS FORM OF WITHDRAWAL CERTIFICATION AND INSTEAD, YOU (IT) MUST
COMPLETE AND DELIVER TO THE DEPOSITARY A LONG FORM OF WITHDRAWAL CERTIFICATION
THAT CAN BE FOUND ON THE DEPOSITARY'S WEBSITE.
(2)
PLEASE NOTE THAT IF YOU CANNOT CERTIFY (OR IF YOU ARE ACTING FOR THE ACCOUNT OF
ANOTHER PERSON, SUCH PERSON HAS CONFIRMED TO YOU THAT IT CANNOT CERTIFY) THAT
YOU ARE (IT IS) NOT A "RELATED PERSON" OF THE COMPANY (AS DEFINED BELOW) AS SET
FORTH IN PARAGRAPH 4 ABOVE AND YOU (IT) WISH(ES) TO SURRENDER ADSs OR GIVE
WITHDRAWAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE PURPOSE OF WITHDRAWAL OF THE DEPOSITED
SECURITIES PURSUANT TO THE DEPOSIT AGREEMENT, YOU (IT) WILL NOT BE ABLE TO
SURRENDER ADSs IN ORDER TO WITHDRAW DEPOSITED SECURITIES (OR GIVE INSTRUCTIONS
TO DO SO) USING THIS FORM OF WITHDRAWAL CERTIFICATION AND INSTEAD, YOU (IT) MUST
COMPLETE AND DELIVER TO THE DEPOSITARY A LONG FORM OF WITHDRAWAL CERTIFICATION
THAT CAN BE FOUND ON THE DEPOSITARY'S WEBSITE.
B-2-2
A person
or entity is deemed to be a "Related Person" of the Company if the person or
entity is:
(a)
|
(i)
|
a
company of which the chairman of the board of directors or the general
manager serves as the chairman of the board of directors or the general
manager of the Company, or is the spouse or a relative by blood or
marriage to the chairman of the board of directors or general manager of
the Company within the second degree (as defined under the Civil Code of
the Republic of China);
|
|
(ii)
|
a
non-profit organization of which the funds donated from the Company
exceeds one-third of the non-profit organization's total
funds;
|
|
(iii)
|
a
director, supervisor or general manager, vice-general manager, assistant
general manager, or departmental head of the Company reporting to the
general manager of the Company;
|
|
(iv)
|
the
spouse of a director, supervisor or general manager of the Company;
or
|
|
(v)
|
a
relative by blood or marriage to the Company's chairman of the board of
directors or general manager within the second degree (as defined under
the Civil Code of the Republic of
China).
|
|
or
|
(b)
|
|
A
person or entity in which the Company has invested, which investment is
accounted for by the equity method of accounting under generally accepted
accounting principles in the Republic of China (the "Equity Method"), or a
person or entity which uses the Equity Method to account for an investment
in the Company.
|
B-2-3