Financial Services and International Competitiveness of the Taiwan Industry

In order to cope with the changing financial landscape, the government in Taiwan has put forth financial reform measures and supplementary packages. In this paper, we shall discuss four main themes including the establishment of Asset Management Company/Resolution Trust Corporation to help financial institutions quickly clear up bad loans, the disclosure of open public financial information to increase market transparency, the set up of a Financial Supervisions Commission to unify the work of financial supervisions and financial examinations, and the promotion of merger, shareholdings, and alliances among financial institutions to raise the competitive power of Taiwan banks in international financial markets. Each topic begins with a description of the current status, government policies and strategies, and then brings up some issues worth discussing.