APPLICATIONS from Taiwan banks to invest on the mainland through third-party subsidiaries will be "actively" reviewed, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said yesterday.

The banking regulator will review applications by Taiwanese banks' subsidiaries incorporated outside the island to "conduct business" on the Chinese mainland, the commission said in a statement on its Website. It didn't specify the types of business activities that will be allowed.

The gesture comes after Taiwan authorities on March 12 approved a plan allowing banks to buy stakes of as much as 20 percent in their mainland peers through third-party subsidiaries to make them more competitive, Bloomberg News said. Taiwan restricts direct investment in the mainland.

The regulator will consider Taiwanese banks' applications to acquire equity stakes in mainland banks through legal-person units set up in Hong Kong or Macau, the statement said. Such bids will be viewed under terms set out in the Chinese government's Closer Economic Partnership Agreements with the two special administrative regions, the statement said.

Fubon Financial Holding Co is the only Taiwanese bank currently qualified to buy into a mainland rival through a third-party unit.