Under the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA), banking sectors of the Chinese mainland and Macao have seen more cooperative "opportunities" generated through in-depth interactions, said a Chinese banking regulator in a seminar in Macao on Monday.

"These opportunities have never arisen in the past," and "there is a broad horizon for cooperation to achieve an win-win situation," said Xiao Yuanqi, director-general of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), Chongqing Office.

He made the remark during a seminar concerning the Opening-up of the Banking Industry of China and the cooperation between the banking sectors of the Chinese mainland and Macao.

Since the implementation of CEPA in 2004, four supplementary agreements have been signed in the following four years, and "every agreement has provided Macao banks with practical and extensive concessions whereby they benefited from the facilities and conditions relating to the opening-up of the mainland banking sector," Xiao said.

Macao, an island city with an area of 25.8 square kilometers, is among the most densely banked regions in the world.

Under CEPA, Macao banks enjoy a series of concessions for establishing banking outlets in the Chinese mainland, including lower threshold total assets and simplified process of setting up branches in the mainland. Green light is also given to Macao banks who want to establish branches in China's mid-west, northeast and Guangdong province.

By the end of 2007, the number of banking and financial institutions which had acquired legal entity status in the Chinese mainland stood at 8,875. Meanwhile, there were 71 foreign banks from 23 countries and regions operating 117 branches in the mainland, and 57 of these branches have been authorized to carry out RMB operations.

(Xinhua News Agency March 4, 2008)