PDF(2.7mb) - 國家政策研究基金會

204 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
in technological research and development and the accelerating
pace of market opening in China, the division
of labor among China, Hong, and Taiwan has varied
dramatically from vertical to horizontal integration
across multiple industries in different parts of the value
chain. Furthermore, the scope of cooperation and exchange
has also been expanded from manufacturing to
service industries. The tripartite economic integration
will not only give rise to a substantial increase in labor
demand, create abundant capital supply and activate the
financial markets but will also broaden the scale of financial
markets and accelerate the economic development
in all three entities.
The demand for direct currency exchange in China
as well as Taiwan is expected to grow significantly after
direct weekend chartered flights, across the Taiwan
Strait started, Chinese tourists came to Taiwan, and
restrictions on investment in each other were removed.
Unfortunately, however, as the cross-strait money settlement
mechanism has yet to be established, problems
may possibly occur in money remittances between
China and Taiwan. Setting up a cross-Strait money settlement
mechanism would be critical to the developments
of economic integration between Taiwan and
China.
While the trend of globalization accelerates the
breakdowns of barriers between nations and facilitates
cross-border interactions, regional integration has become
the dominant force in the global economy.
Economic integration will not only mitigate regional
conflicts by strengthening economic and trade partnerships,
but will also increase the bargaining power on
interregional affairs. Therefore, we should exploit the
trends of regional integration to accelerate the pace of
economic integration among China, Hong Kong, and
Taiwan.
For China and Taiwan, the current international
financial turmoil has shattered the solid foundation of
economic development and financial markets and withered
the growth of foreign trade and overseas investments.
To cope with the severe challenges ahead, China,
Hong Kong, and Taiwan will have to make a joint effort
to strengthen their financial cooperation.
As the exchange rate of the U.S dollar to the NTD
has continuously appreciated since the international
financial tsunami began to engulf the world, the NTD
and the RMB should be authorized to substitute the
greenback as the currencies for cross-strait trade activities
and direct investments to reduce exchange risks and
facilitate the expansion of financial markets.
Permission should be granted banks to accept
NTD and RMB deposits and handle direct remittances
between China and Taiwan. Banks should also be allowed
to set up representative offices or branches in
each other’s territory.
Moreover, inter-bank RMB as well as NTD
call-loan markets have to be set up in China and Taiwan
to improve the liquidity in the currency markets and
reduce associated carrying costs.
An MOU on the cross-strait financial supervision
must be signed and a cross-strait monetary settlement
system established. China shall allow Taiwan financial
institutions to enjoy the preferential market access
treatment in terms of the establishments of subsidiaries
and branches. (China has granted that treatment to
Hong Kong under a CEPA.).
Last but not least, both Taiwan and China have to
learn from the experiences of Hong Kong in growing
into one of the distinguished financial centers of the
world. Particularly important is to follow Hong Kong’s
example to set up an optimum financial regulatory system.
Taiwan and China should employ top financial
experts from Hong Kong and provide attractive tax
incentives so that they may jointly set up a promising
international financial center in the Asia-Pacific region
to rival New York, London or Tokyo.