Representatives of China's financial sector were tight-lipped yesterday about their attitude toward the establishment of a bilateral currency clearance mechanism between Taiwan and China, despite the Taiwanese government's willingness to push for a nationwide exchange for the yuan.
Asked for his view on the matter by the Taipei Times at a financial forum held in Taipei, Jiao Jinpu (焦瑾璞), deputy director-general of the research bureau at the People's Bank of China (中國人民銀行), was low-key, merely saying, "It can be discussed."
Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) last month said Cabinet was mulling the idea of setting up a "currency clearance mechanism" instead of inking a "currency clearance agreement" with Beijing to facilitate the exchange of the NT dollar and the yuan in Taiwan proper.
A yuan exchange was launched in Kinmen and Matsu on Oct. 3 between the range of NT$4.039 and NT$4.199 to the yuan.
The 23-member delegation led by Ma Delun (馬德倫), an assistant to the governor of the People's Bank of China, is composed of representatives from China's banking, securities and insurance sectors.
They arrived in Taiwan on Monday for a two-day forum starting yesterday at the invitation of the Chung-hua Institution for Economic Research (中華經濟研究院) and the Taipei Foundation of Finance (台北金融研究發展基金會).
The 11th annual forum aims at providing a platform for the two sides to exchange opinions on financial reforms, exchange rates, foreign bank market entry into Taiwan and China and financial cooperation opportunities across the Taiwan Strait.
Speaking to participants at the forum earlier yesterday, Ma said financial industries across the Strait should cooperate more closely.
Hsieh Chin-ho (謝金河), chief executive officer of the business monthly Wealth Magazine, stressed that Taiwanese banks should be allowed to move across the Taiwan Strait just as foreign banks have swarmed into China to claim a share in Chinese lenders.
China has promised to open up its financial service industry in December next year in accordance with WTO regulations. However, Taiwanese lenders are currently only allowed to set up representative offices and are banned from approving loans in China.
Eyeing potential business opportunities lying ahead, foreign investors have vied to purchase initial public offerings (IPO) at China's state-owned banks, with the Bank of America investing US$3 billion to buy shares and an IPO of the China Construction Bank (
HSBC Holdings PLC has been the most active foreign lender by spending US$5 billion to buy holdings in four Chinese banks, including the Bank of Communications (
In stark contrast, foreign investors seem to lack interest in Taiwan's market, with the number of foreign banks entering the country dwindling from 46 in 1998 to 35 last year, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lee Chi-chu (
Last year alone, foreign banks accounted for 5.65 percent of the nation's banking market in terms of assets, but their pre-tax profits reached 10.99 percent, displaying strong profitability compared with local competitors.
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
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
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last