The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday relaxed rules on investments by local banks, financial holding firms and their subsidiaries in capital leasing companies and other related businesses in China
The commission currently restricts such investments to only one Chinese firm, but will remove limits to enable local financial to expand in China.
The easing came after the commission held three discussions with top executives from the nation’s 15 financial holding companies last month.
The industry leaders said the cap on total investment prevents excessive capital outflows.
State-run First Commercial Bank (第一銀行) and Industrial Bank of Taiwan (IBT, 台灣工銀) have applied to set up a capital leasing firm in Suzhou, China.
First Bank, the banking arm of First Financial Holding Co (第一金控), made the investment via a subsidiary and yesterday won approval from the Ministry of Economic Affairs’ review committee, the company said in an e-mailed statement.
The new capital lending company is scheduled to start operations later this quarter, the statement said.
IBT aims to inaugurate its capital leading firm in Suzhou in the first half of this year, the company said recently.
In related news, Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) said yesterday that it planned to acquire 100 percent of Guotai Insurance Brokers Co (國泰保險經紀人) for NT$3.6 million (US$120,868) and to buy 2.58 million new shares to be issued by the brokerage for NT$26.4 million, according to a Taiwan Stock Exchange filing.
Taiwan Transport and Storage Corp (TTS, 台灣通運倉儲) yesterday unveiled its first electric tractor unit — manufactured by Volvo Trucks — in a ceremony in Taipei, and said the unit would soon be used to transport cement produced by Taiwan Cement Corp (TCC, 台灣水泥). Both TTS and TCC belong to TCC International Holdings Ltd (台泥國際集團). With the electric tractor unit, the Taipei-based cement firm would become the first in Taiwan to use electric vehicles to transport construction materials. TTS chairman Koo Kung-yi (辜公怡), Volvo Trucks vice president of sales and marketing Johan Selven, TCC president Roman Cheng (程耀輝) and Taikoo Motors Group
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