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Foreign bankers want more opening-up

The opening-up of the financial sector to allow companies to expand across the Taiwan Strait is a concern raised by foreign bankers during a luncheon with Premier Frank Hsieh (謝長廷) yesterday.

Lawrence Liang (梁敬思), managing director of ING Bank NV Taiwan Branch, called for further liberalization, saying that the government's cross-strait policy for the financial sector has been stagnant for so long that Taiwanese financial institutions cannot catch up with, let alone support, the internationalization of their Taiwanese clients.

"Cross-strait relations are sophisticated issues, intertwined with concerns over national security," Hsieh said after making a speech earlier to members of the European Chamber of Commerce Taipei and the American Chamber of Commerce.

"Economically, I stand for liberalization," Hsieh said. However, "this does not fall under the Premier's jurisdiction but the jurisdiction of the nation's leaders."

Divided views exist on the opening-up of financial policy, with 80 percent of the business community saying "yes" to opening up, compared with only around 30 percent of the general public that support the idea, he said.

In his speech, Hsieh told the audience that the government's priority after the Dec. 3 elections is creating a stable investment environment through sound politics and harmony between the ruling and opposition parties.
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