Mainland offers financing support to Taiwan-funded companies amid downturn

Special Report:Global Financial

Crisis

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Chinese media) -- The mainland will offer

130 billion yuan (about 19 billion U.S. dollars) worth of financing support over

the next three years to Taiwan-funded companies to help them tide over the

economic downturn, a mainland official told reporters here Wednesday.

Fan Liqing, the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office

spokeswoman, said the funds will be channeled through major banks, such as the

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, which had extended more than 4 billion

yuan in credit to more than 500 Taiwan-funded companies that operate on the

mainland as of January.

The government will also hold meetings where banks

and companies can discuss the financing support. The next meetings are scheduled

for Friday and Saturday in Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces, respectively, Fan

said.

The mainland has previously extended financial

support to Taiwan-funded companies. For example, China Development Bank, one of

the major banks in China, lent 22.68 billion yuan to Taiwan-funded companies

from 2006 to 2008.

Regarding a cross-Straits economic collaboration

pact, Fan said details would be discussed on the National People's Congress

which is to open on March 5.

She also said the government had approved a plan for a visit to Taiwan by 10,000 marketing staff from Amway Corp. China, which would be the biggest ever tourism group from the mainland.

The two sides were also discussing regular flights to meet the needs of increasing cross-Straits tourism, according to Fan.

Mainland, Taiwan to start two-way postal remittances

BEIJING, Feb. 25 (Chinese media) -- The Chinese mainland and Taiwan will have full two-way postal remittance services starting Thursday for the first time in 60 years, Fan Liqing, spokeswoman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, said here Wednesday.

Fan said post offices on both sides had completed technical tests and were ready to start service. More than 2,000 mainland post offices would offer outward remittances and more than 20,000 would be able to receive funds from Taiwan, she said. Full story