Chinatrust Commercial Bank, one of the largest private lenders in Taiwan, is lobbying the Shanghai government to waive rules on petty-loan firms. It is looking to tap the rising demand for financing from small firms.
The bank aims to set up wholly owned small-loan businesses in Shanghai, which bars individual shareholders from holding stakes of more than 20 per cent.
'Taiwan banks can play an active role in financing the mainland's small and medium-sized enterprises,' said Charles Lo, the chief executive of Chinatrust Financial, which controls the bank.
'We want to open fully owned small-loan businesses in Shanghai and have expressed our wishes to the local authorities.'
Taiwanese banks have yet to receive approvals from both sides of the strait to set up small-loan companies on the mainland.
Lo said Chinatrust was keen to expand microcredit businesses on the mainland, believing it was a niche market for Taiwanese banks, latecomers to the mammoth mainland economy because of regulatory restrictions.
