Want China Times
Date: 2015-04-20
By: Wei Chiao-yi and Staff Reporter

Taiwanese banks are eyeing the benefits of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative in Southeast Asia, which also involves infrastructure projects in Central Asia and the Middle East, reports our Chinese-language sister paper Commercial Times.

The Belt and Road initiative is a set of plans with an economic scope of US$21 trillion covering an area inhabited by 4.4 billion people. The Taiwanese banks that are interested include Bank SinoPac, CTBC Bank, Cathay United Bank, Taishin International Bank, Taipei Fubon Bank, E Sun Bank, First Bank and Mega International Commercial Bank.

A spokesperson for a bank whose name was not mentioned in the report said Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Committee has a plan that will lead to a win-win situation for Taiwanese banks both by cooperating with Asian countries and working with China in the Belt and Road initiative. The spokesperson foresees a boom in Taiwanese banks establishing bureaus in Southeast Asian countries.     [FULL  STORY]