The nation's financial regulator may allow Chinese banks to set up
representative offices in Taiwan, a good-willing gesture that is aimed to
pave the way for the signing of a much-needed corss-strait financial
supervisory pact, according to a consensus reached at a preparatory meeting
for the Conference on Sustaining Taiwan's Economic Development yesterday.
The conference will be held at the end of this month.
Under the principle of reciprocity, the government would be required to hammer out a set of approval mechanisms that would allow Chinese banks, securities offices and insurance firms to apply to set up representative offices in Taiwan, according to an agreement reached at yesterday's financial group preparatory meeting comprised of legislators, academics and business representatives.
Beijing has already permitted Taiwanese lenders to set up representative offices in China.
"We hope the proposed opening-up will pave the way for the signing of a memorandum of understanding [MOU], officially or unofficially, by amplifying the needs of our Chinese counterparts," People First Party Legislator Christina Liu (劉憶如) said on the sidelines of the meeting yesterday.
This could lead to an upgrading of Taiwanese banks' operations in China, if the reciprocal treatment and the MOU materialize, said Liu, who is also one of the conveners of the financial group meeting.
The seven Taiwanese banks that gained approval to establish representative offices in China have been restricted from upgrading into branches in the fast-growing economy, due to a lack of reciprocal measures or a bilateral financial supervisory agreement.
Four Chinese banks, including China Merchants Bank (
Meanwhile, the group suggested allowing local banks to set up branches or subsidiaries and invest in their rivals in China, on condition that a cross-strait financial supervisory mechanism and risk control measures be formed "without any compromise of sovereignty and national security."
The condition could also be applied to a proposal to allow Taiwanese securities firms and their overseas subsidiaries to set up outlets or invest in counterparts across the Strait.
The nation's banking sector has been crying out for cross-strait investment rules to be liberalized so lenders can serve clients that have migrated to China -- Taiwan's largest investment destination.
"Foreign banks usually outdo local banks when competing for Taiwanese clients because they are able to provide services in China without any limitations," said industry representative Kenneth Lo (
Taiwan's banking industry risks becoming marginalized if this disadvantage is not removed, Lo said.
But Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang To-far (王塗發) worried that the hazards faced in the Chinese market could spread back to home market without effective risk control -- for example if Taiwanese banks' outlets in China faced bankruptcy.
The risks of concentrating Taiwanese investment in a hostile country remained high, Wang said.
The group further suggested that mutual funds in Taiwan be allowed to invest in stock markets in China as well as Chinese firms listed on the Hong Kong bourse. Mutual funds would be able to invest up to 0.4 percent of their total funds in Chinese stock markets, or around NT$800 million (US$24.73 million), and 10 percent of their funds in Hong Kong-listed Chinese firms, according to the agreement.
Yesterday's agreements will be subject to further discussion in inter-group meetings and in the final sessions of the conference, scheduled for July 27 and 28.
‘DECENT RESULTS’: The company said it is confident thanks to an improving world economy and uptakes in new wireless and AI technologies, despite US uncertainty Pegatron Corp (和碩) yesterday said it plans to build a new server manufacturing factory in the US this year to address US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy. That would be the second server production base for Pegatron in addition to the existing facilities in Taoyuan, the iPhone assembler said. Servers are one of the new businesses Pegatron has explored in recent years to develop a more balanced product lineup. “We aim to provide our services from a location in the vicinity of our customers,” Pegatron president and chief executive officer Gary Cheng (鄭光治) told an online earnings conference yesterday. “We
LEAK SOURCE? There would be concern over the possibility of tech leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, an analyst said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday stayed mum after a report said that the chipmaker has pitched chip designers Nvidia Corp, Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Broadcom Inc about taking a stake in a joint venture to operate Intel Corp’s factories. Industry sources told the Central News Agency (CNA) that the possibility of TSMC proposing to operate Intel’s wafer fabs is low, as the Taiwanese chipmaker has always focused on its core business. There is also concern over possible technology leaks if TSMC were to form a joint venture to operate Intel’s factories, Concord Securities Co (康和證券) analyst Kerry Huang (黃志祺)
It was late morning and steam was rising from water tanks atop the colorful, but opaque-windowed, “soapland” sex parlors in a historic Tokyo red-light district. Walking through the narrow streets, camera in hand, was Beniko — a former sex worker who is trying to capture the spirit of the area once known as Yoshiwara through photography. “People often talk about this neighborhood having a ‘bad history,’” said Beniko, who goes by her nickname. “But the truth is that through the years people have lived here, made a life here, sometimes struggled to survive. I want to share that reality.” In its mid-17th to
‘MAKE OR BREAK’: Nvidia shares remain down more than 9 percent, but investors are hoping CEO Jensen Huang’s speech can stave off fears that the sales boom is peaking Shares in Nvidia Corp’s Taiwanese suppliers mostly closed higher yesterday on hopes that the US artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer would showcase next-generation technologies at its annual AI conference slated to open later in the day. The GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in California is to feature developers, engineers, researchers, inventors and information technology professionals, and would focus on AI, computer graphics, data science, machine learning and autonomous machines. The event comes at a make-or-break moment for the firm, as it heads into the next few quarters, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s (黃仁勳) keynote speech today seen as having the ability to
RSS