Filing Details
- Accession Number:
- 0001072613-18-000553
- Form Type:
- 13D Filing
- Publication Date:
- 2018-11-30 06:59:17
- Filed By:
- City Of London Investment Group Plc
- Company:
- Taiwan Fund Inc (NYSE:TWN)
- Filing Date:
- 2018-11-30
- 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 | 3,304,581 | 0 | 3,304,581 | 3,304,581 | 41.1% |
| City of London Investment Management Company Limited (CLIM), a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales | 0 | 3,304,581 | 0 | 3,304,581 | 3,304,581 | 41.1% |
Filing
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
SCHEDULE 13D
(Rule 13d-101)
(Amendment No. 4 )
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 M. Olliff
c/o City of London Investment Management Company Limited
77 Gracechurch Street, London, UK EC3V 0AS
+44 207 711 0771
November 29, 2018
(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 | | | ||
| 3,304,581 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 9 | SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 0 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 10 | SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 3,304,581 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 11 | AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON | | | ||
| 3,304,581 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 12 | CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES | | ☐ | ||
| | | ||||
| | | ||||
| 13 | PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) | | | ||
| 41.1% | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 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 | | | ||
| 3,304,581 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 9 | SOLE DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 0 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 10 | SHARED DISPOSITIVE POWER | | | ||
| 3,304,581 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 11 | AGGREGATE AMOUNT BENEFICIALLY OWNED BY EACH REPORTING PERSON | | | ||
| 3,304,581 | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 12 | CHECK BOX IF THE AGGREGATE AMOUNT IN ROW (11) EXCLUDES CERTAIN SHARES | | ☐ | ||
| | | ||||
| | | ||||
| 13 | PERCENT OF CLASS REPRESENTED BY AMOUNT IN ROW (11) | | | ||
| 41.1% | | | |||
| | | ||||
| 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 29, 2018
CITY OF LONDON INVESTMENT GROUP PLC
/ s / Barry M. Olliff
Name: Barry M. Olliff
Title: Director
CITY OF LONDON INVESTMENT
MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED
/ s / Barry M. Olliff
Name: Barry M. Olliff
Title: Director
Exhibit A
November 29, 2018
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"). As we have stated privately in the past, we are concerned about the Fund's NAV performance and the discount. Our view is that far too little has been done to address the persistently-wide discount. The market has lost confidence in the Board's willingness and ability to confront this problem and now more substantial action is required. The weak NAV investment performance over an extended period has exacerbated the challenges, and now the Fund is in a situation where we would suggest its future is in doubt.
The Discount
The discount remains wide as measured by any available metric, closing at 13.5% on 27-Nov-18 (source Bloomberg). Since the announcement on October 18, 2018 that an "undisclosed, flexible trigger mechanism" would be used to facilitate the buyback, the Board has repurchased an average of 2,500 shares per day. The narrowest the discount has been since the announcement is 12.0% and on many occasions it closed wider than 14.0%. This action was clearly 'too little too late.' We would suggest a more aggressive posture should be considered, even if that means going outside of the safe harbor provisions for buying back shares.
Investment Performance
For the three years ending September 30, 2018, the Manager has underperformed (in NAV terms) the stated benchmark (TAIEX Total Return Index) by a cumulative 26.8% (source Company Fact Sheet). This level of underperformance is wholly unsatisfactory and implies an ineffective set of risk controls imposed by the Board. The Board owes all investors a detailed explanation of how this unfolded.
Conclusion
The Fund provides closed-end fund exposure to the Taiwanese equity markets which we view as potentially valuable. Unfortunately, the Board has been unable to deliver a competitive product because of failed discount control measures and unacceptable investment performance. We suggest that Board take bold steps to address these weaknesses.
Sincerely,
Jeremy Bannister
Director, Corporate Governance