Fujian, Taiwan eyeing closer financial links

Employees work on a production line of baseball-related products at a Taiwan-funded company in Longyan, Fujian province. ZHANG BIN/CHINA NEWS SERVICE

East China's Fujian province is moving to deepen financial cooperation with Taiwan province by introducing a string of measures to better facilitate two-way financial activity and make it easier for Taiwan residents and companies to access financial services on the mainland.

The measures include better facilitating the financing of Taiwan-funded enterprises and mobile payments for Taiwan residents when visiting Fujian. The province also plans to set up a number of specialized banking and insurance organizations for Taiwan companies and residents, said Chen Zhiyong, deputy director of Fujian's Taiwan Affairs Office.

Eligible Taiwan-funded enterprises based in Fujian can directly apply for debt at local banks without having to go to an exchange management department. In addition, Fujian provides convenient services for investors to open share trading accounts. It has set up 30 counters for Taiwan residents at Industrial Securities and Huafu Securities to carry out online and offline financial services, Chen said at a news conference on Tuesday in Fuzhou, Fujian province.

When it comes to listing services for Taiwan-funded enterprises, Chen said the Xiamen Cross-Strait Equity Exchange will carry out 37 special capital matchmaking activities, such as financing roadshows and equity incentives, and providing one-on-one services.

For Taiwan resients, banks such as Industrial Bank Co Ltd have launched special bank cards to facilitate mobile payments through China UnionPay and code swipe payment modalities, Chen added.

Such services effectively enrich the supply of mobile payment products, further enhance the convenience of mobile payments and greatly benefit Taiwan residents, said Cao Guiyuan, a senior official at the Fujian Provincial Branch of the People's Bank of China.

"In the next stage, we will focus on entry ports such as airports and rail terminals, as well as industrial parks and residential areas to promote those payment products that benefit the Taiwan compatriots," Cao said.

Fujian is committed to improving checking and inquiring of credit information for Taiwan residents. It has deployed 113 credit report self-service inquiry machines, which support identity documents including Taiwan residence permits, to inquire into detailed credit information, according to the proposed measures.

More than 300 financial institutions have been encouraged to raise credit quotas, reduce loan interest rates and cut fees for Taiwan enterprises with financial credit certificates, Cao said.