Taiwan legal market to revitalise
Under the ECFA trade agreement the mainland will open up 11 service sectors such as banking, securities, insurance and accounting to Taiwanese companies. Taiwan agreed to offer Chinese investors wider access in seven areas, including banking.
Although the details and measures on liberalisation are yet to be issued, a strong sense of optimism has already been felt among the island’s legal professionals. “Local law firms generally experienced a lull in corporate work in the past a number of years due to a low level of economic activity. But we expect the ECFA to bring in a raft of transactions and cross-Strait investment over the coming years,” said Lillian Chu, a partner with Taiwan’s leading firm Tsar & Tsai. “The volume of legal work will naturally grow, in line with the broader economy.”
Chu anticipates a major sector of growth to be driven by legal demand arising from the banking and financial services sectors, and in high-tech industry. “The ECFA will enable Taiwanese banking and finance industry to develop a strong market share in the mainland. It will also allow Chinese banks to set up subsidiaries in Taiwan and invest in Taiwanese banks and financial holding companies,” she said. “But mainland investors will invest in Taiwan mainly to acquire talent, knowledge, know-how and the technologies, as the local markets are relatively small.”
More importantly, the ECFA is not only set to give cross-Strait trade and transactions a boost but also should help lure more foreign investment and multinational companies to Taiwan. “As ECFA comes into effect, some foreign investors or companies may see Taiwan as a preferred cooperation partner and gateway to enter the mainland market. It has the same culture and language, and similar legal system as the mainland,” Chu said. ALB
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