Taipei  - Taiwan hopes to build itself into the Asia-Pacific financial centre, a newspaper said on Monday, but the plan faces difficulties as Taiwan's financial market is not liberalized and several other Asian cities are also competing to become the regional financial centre.

The Economic Daily News quoted Chen Shu, director-general of the Financial Supervisory Commission, as saying that after incoming President Ma Ying-jeou's government is inaugurated Tuesday, he will give priority to building Taiwan into the Asia-Pacific financial centre.

"During my four-year term, I will draft short-term, mid-term and long-term plans for building Taiwan into the Asia-Pacific financial centre," the paper quoted Chen as saying.

"This Asia-Pacific financial centre will be competitive and attractive. It will promote the integration of Taiwanese, Chinese and foreign financial markets and allow mainland-based Chinese companies to list on the Taiwan Stock Exchange," he was quoted as saying.

Taiwan's dream to become an Asia-Pacific financial centre faces many obstacles because of Taiwan's restrictions on foreign financial firms' operations and its five-decade ban on direct air and sea links with China.

During the term of former president Lee Teng-hui in 1995, Taiwan unveiled a plan to develop itself into the Asia-Pacific Regional Operations Centre.

The master plan included building Taiwan into six regional hubs -for telecommunication, manufacturing, shipping, air transportation, media and finance.

But the plan flopped due to Taiwan's ban on sea and air links with China and its lack of other conditions for becoming a regional operations centre.

Currently several Asian cities, including Tokyo, Shanghai and Hong Kong, are competing to become the Asia-Pacific financial centre. (dpa)