TAIPEI - Several Taiwanese banks are planning to open branches in China after the island signed three long-anticipated financial memoranda of understanding with the mainland, a report said Tuesday.

Seven local banks that currently have representative offices in China will apply to the authorities to upgrade them to branch status after the agreements take effect in January, the Commercial Times said.

They include government-invested Taiwan Cooperative Bank, Hua Nan Commercial Bank and Chang Hwa Bank, it said.

The report also quoted unnamed banks as saying that they will expand staffing in China, forming partnerships with mainland banks to lower mutual borrowing costs.

The agreements, the latest sign of improving ties between the former arch rivals, will pave the way for closer cooperation in banking, insurance and securities, Taiwan's Financial Supervisory Commission said.

The memoranda, inked Monday, cover information exchange, confidentiality, financial inspection, crisis management and continued contact between the two sides' regulatory agencies, it said.

According to earlier reports, the memoranda should eventually make it easier for Taiwanese and Chinese banks to buy each other's assets.

The agreements were also expected to make it possible for Chinese investors to buy shares on the Taiwanese stock market, reports said.