November 13, 2009

China and Taiwan are poised to sign an agreement giving their banks, insurers and brokerages wider access to each other’s markets as relations between the two adversaries are at their best in 60 years. Sean Chen, head of Taiwan’s financial regulator, briefed lawmakers on the contents of the memorandum of understanding in Taipei today, Jimmy Kuo, a Financial Supervisory Commission spokesman, said by telephone. Chen will present MOU documents to parliament’s finance committee on Monday, Kuo said.

An agreement with China may help Taiwan’s nine-year-old drive to consolidate the island’s fragmented financial industry. The regulator yesterday issued draft rules to tighten the requirements for branches of foreign banks in anticipation of Chinese lenders coming to Taiwan. “We hope the MOU would remove some restrictions for us, but in the next three years at least, I don’t see any benefit for Taiwan banks,” said Sam Hsieh, a Taipei-based fund manager at Fuh Hwa Investment Trust Co., who helps oversee $4.8 billion in securities.