TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taipei Fubon Bank is applying to the Japanese authorities to open a branch in Tokyo, becoming the second Taiwanese bank to plan a move into Japan this year, reports said Thursday (July 4).

The move followed the opening of the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) joint venture in Kumamoto last April. Earlier this year, the Taiwan Cooperative Bank also took steps to move into Japan, per CNA.

The banks first need to win the approval of Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) before they can apply to the Japanese authorities to open a branch. Including Taipei Fubon Bank, eight Taiwanese financial institutions run operations in Japan.

Taipei Fubon Bank President Tim Kuo (郭倍廷) said that after the company received a green light from the FSC on Tuesday (July 2), it moved to apply with the Japanese government. The Tokyo branch should open during the second half of 2025, reaching the breakeven point within three years, he said.

Turning to the bank’s other overseas plans, Kuo said it received the approval of the FSC in 2023 to turn its representative office in Sydney, Australia, into a full branch. During the first quarter of 2024, the FSC agreed with plans for a Taipei Fubon Bank branch in Mumbai, India, which could launch in 2026, and a representative office in the South Korean capital Seoul, he added.