Financial Supervisory Commission chairman Sean Chen (陳冲) yesterday told the legislature that he is convinced cross-strait financial services will eventually be included on the nation’s early harvest list when Taiwan inks an economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) with China this year.
“Based on our consensus with China, financial services will be on the nation’s early harvest list,” despite the financial sector not being included in the second round of ECFA talks, concluded yesterday, Chen said in response to questions by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) in a legislative session. “On the list, the number of financial products may vary, pending future rounds of ECFA negotiations,” he said.
Chen said his commission would soon hold discussions with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Mainland Affairs Council on the possibility of placing financial service negotiations on the agenda for the next few rounds of cross-strait ECFA talks.
The comments sought to ease market concerns and media speculation that financial services may be dropped from the early harvest list since financial-sector negotiations were excluded from the agenda of ECFA talks in Taoyuan over the past two days.
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