Addressing the opening ceremony, bank president Tseng Ming-Chung said that although Taiwanese banks had lagged behind foreign banks in tapping the mainland market, they would pick up quickly as they enjoyed a number of advantages.

He said Taiwanese banks used the same language and their employees were the same race as mainland people. This would put Taiwanese banks in advantageous positions in business activities.

Economic exchanges across the Taiwan Strait have boomed in recent years amid growing calls for reunification from people on both sides.

According to regulations of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the central bank, Taiwanese banks can apply to start commercial operations on the mainland two years after opening their representative offices. Before that, the representative offices are only limited to non-profit activities such as consultancy on financial affairs, market research and liaison activities.

The PBOC has been consistently encouraging Taiwanese banks to set up business institutions on the mainland. Since 2001, a total of eight Taiwanese banks have set forth applications on opening representative offices in such cities as Shanghai and Beijing. Before that, all the eight banks had received permission to open offices on the mainland.

So far, the central bank has approved the applications of four -- Chang Hwa Bank, United World Chinese Commercial Bank, Hua Nan Commercial Bank and Taiwan Cooperative Bank. Other applications are still being processed.

Early this year, Chang Hwa Bank opened a representative office in the city of Kunshan in east China's Jiangsu province, and the World Chinese Commercial Bank opened a representative office in Shanghai. It is still unknown when Hua Nan Commercial Bank will open its office.

Sources said Taiwan Cooperative Bank is the second largest in Taiwan with a history of more than 50 years.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2002)