State-owned Land Bank of Taiwan (土地銀行) said yesterday it expected to open a Shanghai branch by the end of this year, targeting the large number of Taiwanese investors in the Chinese city.
“We have requested that our Shanghai representative office file an application with the Chinese banking authorities in Shanghai,” vice president Wu Fu-rong (吳福榮) told Central News Agency.
The bank’s move came after the China Banking Regulatory Commission recently said it had started to receive Taiwanese banks’ applications to open branches in China.
Land Bank has operated a representative office in Shanghai since 2003 and has long waited to be able to upgrade it to a branch.
“Now that Taiwan and China have signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement [ECFA] granting Taiwanese banks easier access to the Chinese market, it is a great opportunity for us,” Wu said.
Under the ECFA, Taiwanese banks will be allowed to conduct business using the yuan if their Chinese branch is profitable and has been established for at least two years, compared with a three-year requirement for other foreign banks.
Taiwanese banks will also be allowed to conduct business using the yuan with Taiwanese investors in China if they are profitable and have been established for at least one year.
“After years of presence in Shanghai, Land Bank is ready to upgrade the office into a branch. We have even found a very good location for the branch in Pudong district,” Wu said.
Apart from Land Bank of Taiwan, Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行), First Bank (第一銀行) and Taiwan Cooperative Bank (合作金庫銀行) have been approved by Taiwan’s Financial Regulatory Commission to open branches in China.
Local media reported Chang Hwa Bank, First Bank and Taiwan Cooperative Bank were expected to submit their applications as early as yesterday. The three banks were not available for comment.
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