Taiwan-China currency swap meeting delayed

TAIPEI - A meeting between the financial authorities of Taiwan and China to discuss a currency swap agreement and other forms of cooperation, could be postponed indefinitely, two sources with knowledge of the situation said on Tuesday.

Taiwan's central bank has not yet arranged to send a representative to China, the sources said. The meeting was first announced last month by central bank governor Perng Fai-nan, who told Taiwanese lawmakers that a vice-governor would be sent to the mainland in December.

Economists expected a currency swap deal to be on the agenda, with Taiwan to also lobby the People's Bank of China to relax the currency exchange upper limit, currently set at 20,000 yuan (S$4171.80) per person per day.

The meeting would have been the latest in a series of watershed developments in the financial sector between the two sides, including the establishment of an exchange-traded fund platform for investors to trade in mainland Chinese stocks.

Numerous Chinese banks have also recently expressed their intent to issue yuan bonds in Taiwan, in a first for the former geopolitical foes.

According to one source, Taiwan is still working to hold the meetings, though no timetable has been set.

When contacted, Taiwan's central bank declined comment.