Vice Minister of Finance Sean Chen (
Chen was referring to a report from Beijing that Shi Jiliang (
The news follows a trip by one of Taiwan's top banking regulators who visited his counterparts in Beijing, amid reports China may ease access to its market for Taiwan lenders.
Bureau of Monetary Affairs Deputy Director General Tsai Ching-nain (
China, which incorrectly claims Taiwan is part of its territory, will require Taiwan banks seeking to open mainland branches to accept its ``one China'' policy, a Taiwanese paper said.
Taipei refuses to embrace such a policy, seeing it as a political trap.
"Beijing is turning up the heat to force Taiwan to bow to its one China policy by offering incentives to Taiwanese businesses, laced with conditions," said Lin Tsui-pin (
China's huge market offers vast potential for Taiwan's banks, strapped for lending opportunities at home as a result of the slumping domestic economy here.
Banks also want mainland representation so they can service Taiwan businesses that move operations to China.
The Land Bank of Taiwan (
Shi's reported offer comes as Taiwan has promised to relax investment regulations.
"China has always maintained an open policy towards Taiwan's banks and financial services firms that want to establish branches on the mainland," said Wei Gejun, a senior spokesman at the People's Bank of China in Beijing.
"Taiwanese banks are treated the same way as those from Hong Kong and Macao."
To woo Taiwan banks, China plans to waive requirements for full-branch status, such as holding a minimum US$20 billion in total assets and running a representative office for two years, Chinese-language media reported.
Under the proposal, Taiwan banks will also be allowed to take deposits and offer loans denominated in yuan, local media said, but Taiwanese banks must accept Beijing's one China principle and applications must be made before China enters the WTO to qualify, local media said.
Taipei does not yet permit local banks to seek full branch status in China, fearing that an increased reliance on the mainland economy will make Taiwan more vulnerable to its rival if relations deteriorate further.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last