Taiwan and China signed an economic framework agreement in June 2010, which has since opened China’s banking, insurance, securities and hospital operations to Taiwan.

Taiwanese banks will now take only one year to upgrade their Chinese representative offices to branches instead of two years. Insurance companies can establish operations in China if the group or joint venture has capital of more than $5bn, has operated for 30 years and establishes an office in China for two years. Taiwanese companies will also be permitted to operate hospitals or aircraft maintenance companies by themselves or through joint ventures with Chinese partners in some areas of China, such as Jiangsu Province.

In recent examples from fDi Markets, the Industrial Bank of Taiwan will open a finance and leasing company in China in the first half of 2011 and Cathay United Bank recently won approval by the China Banking Regulatory Committee to operate in China and has since opened a branch in Shanghai.