SINGAPORE (Reuters) – British bank Barclays Plc said on Wednesday it had received approval from Taiwanese authorities to set up a subsidiary, providing brokerage and underwriting services to its global and Taiwanese corporate and institutional clients.

Through the establishment of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Barclays Securities Taiwan Ltd, the company said in a statement that it aims to leverage its global corporate and investment bank’s expertise and footprint to offer clients access to key regional and global capital markets, as well as cross-border investment opportunities.

“The build out of our platform in Taiwan demonstrates our commitment to growing our Asia Pacific franchise,” said Jaideep Khanna, head of Barclays, Asia Pacific.

The subsidiary is expected to be fully operational in the third quarter of this year, subject to obtaining the relevant licensing approval.

It will be led by Shella Wang, currently the head of macro distribution, North Asia, who has also been appointed as the subsidiary’s chairman, Barclays said.

In January, DBS Group, Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets, agreed to pay S$956 million ($687 million) for Citigroup’s consumer business in Taiwan as the Singapore lender shores up regional acquisitions to power growth.

($1 = 1.3916 Singapore dollars)

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga, Editing by Louise Heavens)