我國機構投資人盡職治理之研究—以盡職治理守則推動ESG投資

Abstract

在英國於2010推出盡職治理守則（UK Stewardship Code）之後，世界多國相繼推出各自之盡職治理守則，而我國在2016年也跟進發布我國「機構投資人盡職治理守則」。機構投資人盡職治理之討論在國際上近年來蔚為風潮，本文希冀藉由比較與參考國際間盡職治理守則之發展，能夠對於我國盡職治理守則有所啟發。首先，既然我國盡職治理守則係參考英國而制定，則自然應介紹英國盡職治理守則之背景與介紹。此外，本文亦討論盡職治理守則在其他國家之發展，觀察盡職治理被賦予之不同意義與目的。而雖然美國並無官方之盡職治理守則，但是我國之公司治理法制深受美國之影響，故也一併介紹美國法對機構投資人之規範與發展。 聚焦於台灣，本文透過簽署人的盡職治理報告，嘗試研究簽署人2020年在盡職治理守則推動五年後之盡職治理狀況。本文研究發現簽署人之盡職治理狀況在各個面向均不理想，與盡職治理守則之期望相差甚遠。除了簽署人盡職治理狀況未盡理想外，簽署人也未認真地遵循盡職治理守則。究其根本，除了機構投資人缺乏誘因之問題外，我國上市公司屬於股權集中型的持股結構與英國股權分散型不同，我國上市公司大多已經存在控制性股東，機構投資人即使合作仍然屬於少數股東，無法憑藉股權影響公司經營階層。有學者因此將股權集中型之國家推動盡職治理守則稱為「法律上的不合身」（legal misfit）。 未來我國盡職治理守則究竟能發揮什麼樣的效果，端視我國主管機關之態度為何。若不對盡職治理守則採取行動，則盡職治理守則將只會成為一份無關緊要的文件，並不會有顯著之效果。若欲使盡職治理守則在未來依然保有其重要性，則必須賦予其另外之意義。對此，本文認為ESG投資可以為盡職治理守注入新的意義，成為盡職治理守則的未來方向。然而，現行的盡職治理守則著重於促進機構投資人對特定議題之議合。是以，若欲利用盡職治理守則推動機構投資人ESG投資，則勢必要對盡職治理守則做出相對應之修正。本文嘗試提出對盡職治理守則的修正方向，使盡職治理守則能夠成為推動我國ESG投資的重要工具。

After the UK published the UK Stewardship Code in 2010, several countries followed suit and published their own stewardship codes. In 2016, Taiwan joined the trend by launching the “Stewardship Principles for Institutional Investors” (hereinafter “Taiwan Stewardship Code”). The focus on institutional investor stewardship has become a trend internationally in recent years, this thesis hopes that the Taiwan Stewardship Code can draw inspiration from international developments. First, since the Taiwan Stewardship Code is based on the UK Stewardship Code, a reasonable starting point would be the UK developments. Further, this thesis also discusses the stewardship code developments in the other countries to look at the different meanings and purposes given to “stewardship.” Although the US does not have an official stewardship code, since Taiwan’s corporate governance legal landscape is heavily influenced by the US, this thesis will introduce the developments and regulations concerning institutional investors as well. After looking at international developments, this thesis examined the 2020 stewardship reports of all signatories of the Taiwan Stewardship Code to shed light on the stewardship activities in Taiwan, exactly five years after the launch of the Taiwan Stewardship Code. This thesis found that the stewardship activities of the signatories are far from satisfying, and fell short of the Taiwan Stewardship Code’s expectations. Moreover, the signatories have not been following the Code’s requirements seriously. This discrepancy can be attributed not only to the lack of incentives, but also to the difference in the shareholder ownership structure between Taiwan and the UK. Compared to the UK, Taiwan has a much more concentrated shareholder ownership structure, resulting in most listed Taiwanese companies already having controlling shareholders. Institutional investors being minority shareholders, even if they vote as a block, cannot influence corporate decision-making by their voting powers. This undermines the effectiveness of the stewardship code, therefore leading commentators to describe the introduction of stewardship codes in countries where share ownership is concentrated as “legal misfit.” The Taiwan Stewardship Code now stands at the crossroads. What impact can the Taiwan Stewardship Code have in the future depends on the attitude of the Taiwanese regulators. If no action is taken, the Taiwan Stewardship Code will possibly become a dormant document with no real impact. If the Taiwan Stewardship Code is to retain its relevance in the future, then a different purpose will be needed to be given to it. To that end, this thesis suggests that ESG investing can be the new purpose that may perhaps transform the future of the Taiwan Stewardship Code. However, the current Taiwan Stewardship Code is focused on promoting institutional investors’ stewardship on firm-specific issues. Therefore, if the Taiwan Stewardship Code was to promote ESG investing, then adjustments will need to be made accordingly. This thesis delineate the possible directions of the adjustments that will transform the Taiwan Stewardship Code into a tool to promote ESG investing in Taiwan.