The State Administration of Foreign Exchange recently approved two foreign currency exchange agencies in the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone to start a trial run to exchange RMB into New Taiwan Dollars (NTD), according to the People's Bank of China Fuzhou branch.

The service is open to Chinese mainland residents at the Aoqian Ro-Ro Dock and the Straits, a direct high-speed passenger ferry linking Taiwan and the mainland.

It is the first time that Chinese mainland foreign currency exchange agencies will offer RMB-to-NTD exchange services. The measure was a big step for the People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. The move will help support the development of the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone.

The Straits, shuttling between Pingtan and Taichung in Taiwan, went into service last November and had transported 75,779 passengers by August.

From this January to May, the number of passengers increased from 1,726 to 18,374. From June to August, the ship increased trips from three to four times to meet passenger demand. Since this April, round-trip passengers soared to over 10,000 per month.

Pingtan is the largest island in Fujian province and the mainland's closest region to Taiwan. In the end of 2011, the State Council approved the Overall Development Plan for the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone in hopes of encouraging compatriots on both sides to create a common homeland in Pingtan.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai