Taiwan hopes to build itself into an Asia-Pacific financial center, a newspaper said yesterday, but the plan faces difficulties as Taiwan’s financial market has not liberalized and other cities are competing to become the center.
The Chinese-language Economic Daily News quoted Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Director-General Gorden Chen (陳樹) as saying that after incoming president Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) government is inaugurated today, he will give priority to building Taiwan into a financial center.
“During my four-year term, I will draft short-term, mid-term and long-term plans for building Taiwan into an Asia-Pacific financial center,” Chen was quoted as saying. “This ... center ... will promote the integration of Taiwanese, Chinese and foreign financial markets and allow Chinese companies to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.”
Restrictions on foreign financial firms’ operations and direct air and sea links with China, however, could hamper Chen’s plan.
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