TAIWAN’S stock market regulator is studying a plan to ease rules to make it easier for the mainland’s qualified domestic institutional investors (QDIIs) to invest in local mutual funds, an official said yesterday, in the latest sign of warming financial ties across the Taiwan Straits.

    The proposal would put aside investment quotas for QDIIs in Taiwan’s mutual funds, said an official of the securities and futures bureau. The official declined to be identified as the matter is yet to be made public.

    Currently, Taiwan has a limit of US$500 million for QDIIs to invest in local stocks and mutual funds, among others, combined.

    Taiwan allowed its banks to conduct business in the yuan in 2013, a major step in bringing financial ties closer since Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou took office in 2008.

    “We hope the more investments into the mutual fund industry, the better,” said the official, adding no other details were available. “People in the industry have expressed a lot of interest to see more of the mainland’s QDIIs in the market.”

    Taiwan’s Economic Daily reported yesterday that the mainland’s QDIIs had more than US$80 billion for investments as of the end of June.

    The QDII program was launched in 2006 to allow mainland institutions to invest abroad. More than 100 institutions are qualified at present, China Daily reported last month.

    The Commercial Times, citing unidentified sources, reported July 14 that Taiwan financial regulators are planning to allow mainland tourists to buy yuan financial products when they travel to the island.

    The newspaper also said that mainland tourists will be allowed to trade derivatives, mutual funds and insurance products linked to the yuan, boding well for the Taiwan financial sector’s ambitions to compete with that of Hong Kong and Singapore.

    (SD-Agencies)