Filing Details
- Accession Number:
- 0001072613-17-000548
- Form Type:
- 13D Filing
- Publication Date:
- 2017-11-06 09:30:13
- Filed By:
- City Of London Investment Group Plc
- Company:
- Taiwan Fund Inc (NYSE:TWN)
- Filing Date:
- 2017-11-06
- SEC Url:
- 13D Filing
Ownership Summary
Please notice the below summary table is generated without human intervention and may contain errors. Please refer to the complete filing displayed below for exact figures.
| Name | Sole Voting Power | Shared Voting Power | Sole Dispositive Power | Shared Dispositive Power | Aggregate Amount Owned Power | Percent of Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City of London Investment Group PLC, (CLIG) a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales | 0 | 3,508,359 | 0 | 3,508,359 | 3,508,359 | 42.8% |
| City of London Investment Management Company Limited (CLIM), a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales | 0 | 3,508,359 | 0 | 3,508,359 | 3,508,359 | 42.8% |
Filing
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13D
(Rule 13d-101)
(Amendment No. 2 )
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED IN STATEMENTS FILED PURSUANT
TO RULE 13d-1(a) AND AMENDMENTS THERETO FILED PURSUANT TO
RULE 13d-2(a)
The Taiwan Fund, Inc.
(Name of Issuer)Common Stock, par value $.01 per share
(Title of Class of Securities)874036106
(CUSIP Number)Barry Olliff
c/o City of London Investment Management Company Limited
77 Gracechurch Street, London, UK EC3V 0AS
+44 207 711 0771
November 6, 2017
(Date of Event Which Requires Filing of This Statement)If the filing person has previously filed a statement on Schedule 13G to report the acquisition which is the subject of this Schedule 13D, and is filing this schedule because of Rule 13d-1(e), (f) or (g), check the following box ☐.
*The remainder of this cover page shall be filled out for a reporting person's initial filing on this form with respect to the subject class of securities, and for any subsequent amendment containing information, which would alter disclosures provided in a prior cover page.
The information required on the remainder of this cover page shall not be deemed to be "filed" for the purpose of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section of the Act but shall be subject to all other provisions of the Act.
| 1 | NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS | | | ||
| S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS | | | |||
| City of London Investment Group PLC, (CLIG) a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 2 | CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP | (a) | ☐ | ||
| (b) | ☐ | ||||
| | | ||||
| 3 | SEC USE ONLY | | | ||
| | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 4 | SOURCE OF FUNDS* | | | ||
| OO | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 5 | CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e) | | ☐ | ||
| | | ||||
| | | ||||
| 6 | CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION | | | ||
| England and Wales | | | |||
| | | ||||
| NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH: | 7 | SOLE VOTING POWER | | | |
| 0 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 8 | SHARED VOTING POWER | | | ||
| 3,508,359 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 9 | SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 0 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 10 | SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 3,508,359 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 11 | AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON | | | ||
| 3,508,359 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 12 | CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES | | ☐ | ||
| | | ||||
| | | ||||
| 13 | PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) | | | ||
| 42.8% | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 14 | TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* | | | ||
| HC | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 1 | NAMES OF REPORTING PERSONS | | | ||
| S.S. OR I.R.S. IDENTIFICATION NOS. OF ABOVE PERSONS | | | |||
| City of London Investment Management Company Limited (CLIM), a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 2 | CHECK THE APPROPRIATE BOX IF A MEMBER OF A GROUP | (a) | ☐ | ||
| (b) | ☐ | ||||
| | | ||||
| 3 | SEC USE ONLY | | | ||
| | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 4 | SOURCE OF FUNDS* | | | ||
| WC | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 5 | CHECK BOX IF DISCLOSURE OF LEGAL PROCEEDINGS IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO ITEM 2(d) OR 2(e) | | ☐ | ||
| | | ||||
| | | ||||
| 6 | CITIZENSHIP OR PLACE OF ORGANIZATION | | | ||
| England and Wales | | | |||
| | | ||||
| NUMBER OF SHARES BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON WITH: | 7 | SOLE VOTING POWER | | | |
| 0 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 8 | SHARED VOTING POWER | | | ||
| 3,508,359 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 9 | SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 0 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 10 | SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 3,508,359 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 11 | AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON | | | ||
| 3,508,359 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 12 | CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES | | ☐ | ||
| | | ||||
| | | ||||
| 13 | PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) | | | ||
| 42.8% | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 14 | TYPE OF REPORTING PERSON* | | | ||
| IA | | | |||
| | | ||||
Item 1(a). Name of Issuer:
The Taiwan Fund, Inc.
The principal executive offices of the Fund are located at:
The Taiwan Fund, Inc..
c/o State Street Bank and Trust
One Lincoln Street, P.O. Box 5049
Boston, MA 02111
Item 2. Identity and Background.
Item 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Considerations.
Signature
After reasonable inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this statement is true, complete, and correct.
November 6, 2017
CITY OF LONDON INVESTMENT GROUP PLC
/ s / Barry Olliff
Name: Barry Olliff
Title: Director
CITY OF LONDON INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED
/ s / Barry Olliff
Name: Barry Olliff
Title: Director
Exhibit A
November 6, 2017
Professor William C. Kirby, Chairman
The Taiwan Fund, Inc.
Morgan Hall 167
Harvard Business School
Boston, MA 02163
RE: The Taiwan Fund, Inc.
Dear Professor Kirby
City of London Investment Management Company Limited ("City of London"), on behalf of its clients, is a long-term investor in The Taiwan Fund, Inc. ("the Fund"). We are prompted to write today after Tuesday's release of the Fund's Annual Report dated August 31, 2017. We note that this Annual Report marks your first fiscal year-end as Chairman. Overall, we would say that there is currently room for improvement.
Concerns with the Discount
On February 28, 2017, the Fund announced the arrangements for share repurchases under its Discount Management Policy (the "Policy"): "The Board has authorized management to make open market purchases in an aggregate amount up to 10% of the Fund's currently outstanding shares when the Fund's shares trade at a discount of more than 9% of net asset value …"
In the six months from that announcement through the end of the Fund's fiscal year, the discount averaged 11.0%. In the eight months through October 31, 2017, the discount was slightly wider at 11.1%. We would say that the Policy is not being effectively applied, since the Policy target is to keep the average discount under 9.0%.
Buyback activity amounted to only about 0.3% of the Fund's assets over the six-month period ending August 31, 2017. The Policy limits annual buyback activity to 10% of the outstanding shares, yet the extrapolated annual rate is less than 1% of the Fund's outstanding shares. Shares were repurchased on less than 20 days during the six-month period. The implementation of the Policy thus far demonstrates a lack of conviction.
Concerns with Investment Performance
We note that the NAV performance for the calendar year-to-date (through September 30, 2017) was ahead of the TAIEX benchmark by 2.2% [per the TWN Fact Sheet]. This recent performance, however, comes after NAV underperformance of 6.6% in calendar year 2016 [also per the TWN Fact Sheet].
Our View
The Discount Management Policy is not being effectively implemented and the Fund's discount remains too wide. We will continue to monitor the discount, investment performance, fees, and general corporate governance standards in advance of the Annual Stockholders Meeting. As with all of the relevant securities where City of London has an outstanding 13D filing in place, potential actions include voting against incumbent Directors, or submitting a stockholder proposal.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Bannister
Director, Corporate Governance