Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) yesterday denied speculation that Taiwan would allow Chinese banks to merge with or invest in Taiwanese banks or financial institutions.
Asked to comment on reports that Chinese banks would now be allowed to merge with Taiwan-based banks and financial institutions, Wu told the Taiwan Foreign Correspondents Club that this was not the case.
“So far, it is not the case that Chinese banks can buy Taiwanese banks,” Wu said.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
He said, however, that during talks on a proposed economic cooperation framework agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China, discussions could touch on allowing one or two Chinese banks to open branches in Taiwan.
“We might discuss one or two Chinese branches being able to establish themselves in Taiwan,” the premier said, “but there will be no discussions on acquiring Taiwanese banks.”
Wu, who emphasized that the administration would take a “step-by-step” approach to cross-strait agreements, said that an ECFA would not be discussed during the fourth round of talks between the Straits Exchange Foundation and China’s Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait in Taichung later this month.
Negotiations on an ECFA, he said, would start at the beginning of next year.
Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥) said later yesterday that the two sides would begin formal negotiations on an ECFA after the Lunar New Year, which falls in mid-February.
Earlier yesterday, Wu told representatives of the Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce (CNAIC, 工商協進會) that Taiwan’s industrial development would be jeopardized without an ECFA in view of the threats posed by ASEAN Plus One.
With the ASEAN Plus One to take effect next year, the average export tariffs on Taiwanese goods to China will be 9 percent more than those of ASEAN countries — a disadvantage that could put companies off setting up production facilities in Taiwan, he said.
Taiwan will be further marginalized when a free-trade zone is formed among ASEAN with China, South Korea and Japan, he said.
CNAIC chairman Theodore Huang (黃茂雄) said that the government should allay companies’ skepticism on the potential impact of an ECFA and come up with plans to help affected industries.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS