Financial organizations from the Chinese mainland and Taiwan have stepped up cooperation to take advantage of business opportunities brought by a landmark cross-Strait economic pact, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA).

The board of directors of Taiwan-based Taishin Financial Holdings decided on Sept. 9 to sign a cooperation agreement with mainland-based Nanjing Zijin Investment Co., a move hailed by the company as "the first step to enter the mainland."

The agreement aims to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two companies and their subsidiaries, while Nanjing Zijin will ease the way for Taishin's new operations on the mainland, Taishin said.

The company's Taishin Bank is also planning to set up an office in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

Prior to this, China Huarong Asset Management Corporation (CHAMC) and Taiwan-based SinoPac Holdings signed an agreement in Beijing on Sept. 3 to begin a new strategic cooperation. According to the agreement, the two sides will cooperate in personnel training, exchange of management experiences and information, as well as in research, development of new products and new business models.

Huarong President Lai Xiaomin said the ECFA would promote a quickening flow of economic resources across the Taiwan Strait, including the movement of personnel, materials, capital and information.

"The ECFA will bring great business opportunities for cross-Strait economic development and boost cooperation between financial institutions on both sides, thus bringing new development opportunities for financial industries across the Strait," he said.

The ECFA, which is to take effect on Sunday, was signed by negotiators from the mainland and Taiwan in June, and aims to establish a systematic mechanism for enhancing cross-Strait economic cooperation.

Wang Jianmin, a researcher of the Institute of Taiwan Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said substantial financial cooperation between the two sides has lagged behind trade cooperation for a long time.

"The ECFA, however, will have a positive impact," he said.

The banking service sectors might be among the first to make breakthroughs in cross-Strait financial cooperation.

The mainland-based Bank of China and Bank of Communications applied to the Taiwan economic department on Sept. 7 to set up representative offices in Taiwan.

According to the ECFA, mainland banks can set up representative offices in Taiwan upon approval by the Taiwan authority and can then apply to set up a branch bank one year after the establishment of representative offices on the island.