Bank of Taiwan speeds up China market penetration

BOT chair said it considers buying China's municipal banks while forming alliances with its top lenders.

Susan Chang, chairperson of BOT said the bank may use the two-pronged policy of buying into and forming strategic alliance with Chinese banks, according to a report in China Economic News Service.

For instance, during a meeting with Jiang Jianqing, chairman of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), Chang reportedly talked of the idea of using ICBC's operating network, which consists of 16,000 business units, to serve Taiwanese-invested enterprises throughout China.

One possibility is for BOT to serve Taiwanese businesses via its account at ICBC's business units, an arrangement which will enable the ICBC to charge handling fees for the BOT service. BOT experimented with such arrangement with a South African bank in the past.

Chang reported that BOT will endeavor to enter the Chinese market via three channels: its Shanghai business unit serving clients in Yangtze River delta; its Hong Kong branch, Kinmen branch, and Asia-Pacific unit, serving clients in Pearl River delta and west-Taiwan Strait coastal area; and cooperation with Chinese banks or foreign banks for serving Behai rim region.