President Ma Ying-jeou met with Peter Sands, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered Bank, and other senior executives of the organization at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of September 30. The president extended a warm welcome to the group on their visit to Taiwan.
President Ma stated that Taiwan's banking environment is becoming increasingly internationalized. Foreign banks can establish branches here, conduct the same types of business as local banks, and enjoy full national treatment. Moreover, they can also acquire local banks and operate them as commercial banks, which is precisely what Standard Chartered has done. The president added that the signing of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) will provide both local and foreign banks with even better opportunities for development, ﹝because the Taiwan subsidiaries of foreign banks enjoy the same benefits under ECFA as domestic Taiwan banks﹞.
The president remarked that he has been striving since taking office to improve cross-strait relations and lay a foundation for more systematic cross-strait economic and trade relations. The signing of the ECFA is only a preparatory measure, he said, adding that negotiations on other matters will be held in due course. A first step has now been taken with respect to the service sector, he said, noting that banks, insurance companies, and futures brokerages can now conduct business in mainland China. This will be enormously beneficial in normalizing Taiwan's financial services market, he said.
President Ma added that while the service sector comprises 70% of the Taiwan economy, growth has not been particularly rapid, and the services provided by Taiwan firms need more improvement. Consequently, he said he hopes that Taiwan firms can closely observe their foreign counterparts and parlay the lessons learned into a further upgrading of the service sector here.
The president touched upon the state of Taiwan's tourism industry. He pointed out that the sector posted growth of 14.3% last year, and growth hastened to nearly 30% in the first half of this year. The number of tourists coming to Taiwan has increased sharply and many international hotel chains are looking at investment opportunities here. The president also noted the significant growth of air traffic at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA), saying that traffic is increasing faster at TTIA than at any other airport in Asia in terms of passenger and freight services. However, the airport needs to import foreign methods and technologies in a bid to improve its facilities and management, he said. While the airport's situation is a challenge, it also presents an opportunity, which we will fully utilize to promote development of the tourism industry. The president furthermore said he hopes Standard Chartered can play an important role in this regard.
Mr. Sands and the other Standard Chartered executives were accompanied to the Presidential Office in the afternoon by Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairperson Tang-chieh Wu to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu.