Cross-strait MOU for financial supervision ready to be inked.

Taipei, Sept. 10, 2009 (CENS) -- The memorandum of understanding for cross-Taiwan Strait cooperation in financial supervision is ready for signing, as both sides have ironed out their differences over the document almost entirely, reports the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN), sister publication of Taiwan Economic News (EDN), today.

A ranking economic official pointed out that negotiators of both sides are now discussing the site, timing, and personnel for the signing of the document, after having reached agreement on thorny issues of its contents. Another topic is whether to sign the MOUs for banking, securities, and insurance separately or together.

The MOU will lay the groundwork for both sides to open up their financial markets mutually, allowing, among other things, seven Taiwanese banks to upgrade their existing representatives? offices in China to branches and China's qualified domestic institutional investors (QDII) to invest in Taiwan's stock market instantly. It will also allow domestic securities firms to set up operations in China.

More market opening, though, will hinge on further talk between the two sides, especially the talk on cross-Strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), scheduled next year.

The cross-Strait talk on MOU was initiated in April this year, following the signing of the agreement for cross-Strait financial cooperation by P.K. Chiang, chairman of Straits Exchange Foundation, and Chen Yunlin, chairman of the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits. The talk has been carried out by officials of the Financial Supervisory Commission in Taiwan and its Chinese counterparts, China Banking Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission, and China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

((PL)) (GE)