Bank of Taiwan to look to China for business expansion

The official and prestigious Bank of Taiwan (台灣銀行) may head to China in June for business expansion, according to Minister of Finance Lee Yung-san (李庸三).

Lee made the comment yesterday at the Legislative Yuan while reporting to the finance subcommittee. He said that the Bank of Taiwan's planning to enter China could be part of Taiwan's "goodwill response" to Beijing's recent opening of China's offshore banking unit operations.

Although Beijing's People's Bank of China (中國人民銀行) has not yet approved capital exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, Lee said China has so far made certain "responses" to Taiwan's stated hope of having capital and finance business exchanges across the Taiwan Strait.

Lee did not elaborate on the "responses" that he mentioned.

According to Lee, eight Taiwan banking institutions have applied to open representative offices in China, with only two -- Chang Hwa Bank (彰化銀行) and United World Chinese Commercial Bank (世華銀行) -- having been allowed by the governments on both sides of the Strait to set up representative offices in Shanghai and Kunshan of China so far.

Whether the Ministry of Finance will give approval to more Taiwan banks to set up representative offices on the mainland is an issue that hinges on the attitude of Beijing and on how cross-strait relations develop, Lee reiterated. One day ago, Lee told reporters at a seminar on the development of the nation's finance industry, that the government won't start accepting new applications until China lets the six in waiting to set up offices.

The minister yesterday further stressed that serious cross-strait finance exchanges should start from the basic premise that the mainland Chinese authorities recognize related international practices, including the establishment of financial supervision rights.