State-owned Land Bank of Taiwan (土銀) said yesterday it is seeking China’s approval to set up a branch in Shanghai, with an eye to attracting Taiwanese investors.
The bank said it filed an application with the Shanghai bureau of the China Banking Regulatory Commission on Friday last week, the day after the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) gave the green light for it to open a Shanghai branch.
It has had a representative office in Shanghai for seven years and is eager to upgrade to a branch there.
“We have to act very quickly — we are eager to take advantage of the preferential status under a Taiwan-China pact to seize business opportunities in China,” bank executive Kuo Chang-lung (郭常龍) said yesterday.
Kuo said the bank hopes to open the Shanghai branch by the end of the year.
“Shanghai has many Taiwanese investors. If the bank can serve them by supplying loans in Chinese yuan and help them expand, the lending business in the city will be very promising,” he said.
Land Bank is expected to meet the terms to issue loans in Chinese yuan by 2012, he said.
The bank said it is seeking a location for the Shanghai branch, while selecting and relocating employees from Taiwan to Shanghai.
It is also planning to open branches in Chongqing and Shenyang to help Taiwanese investors there raise funds, he added.
Apart from Land Bank, the FSC has also given approval for First Bank (一銀), Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫) and Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) to open branches in China.
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