investor of a Party means a Party or state enterprise thereof, or a person of a Party, that attempts to make, is making, or has made an investment in the territory of the other Party; provided, however, that a natural person who is a dual national shall be deemed to be exclusively a national of the State of his or her dominant and effective nationality;
new financial service means a financial service not supplied in the Party's territory that is supplied within the territory of the other Party, and includes any new form of delivery of a financial service or the sale of a financial product that is not sold in the Party's territory;
person of a Party means "person of a Party" as defined in Article 2.01 (Definitions of General Application) and, for greater certainty, does not include a branch of an enterprise of a non-Party;
public entity means a central bank or monetary authority of a Party, or any financial institution owned or controlled by a Party;
regulatory authorities means any governmental body that exercises a supervising authority over providers of financial services or financial institutions; and
self-regulatory organization means any non-governmental body, including any securities or futures exchange or market, clearing agency, or other organization or association, that exercises its own or delegated regulatory or supervisory authority over financial service suppliers or financial institutions.
Annex 12.05.1. Cross-Border Trade
Section A. The Republic of Nicaragua
Insurance and Insurance-Related Services
1. For The Republic of Nicaragua, Article 12.05.1 applies to the cross-border supply of or trade in financial services as defined in subparagraph (a) of the definition of cross-border supply of financial services with respect to:
(a) insurance of risk relating to:
(i) maritime shipping, commercial aviation, and space launching and freight (including satellites), with such insurance to cover any or all of the following: the goods being transported, the vehicle transporting the goods, and any liability arising therefrom; and
(ii) goods in international transit;
(b) reinsurance and retrocession;
(c) brokerage of insurance risks relating to subparagraphs (a)(i) and (a)(ii); and
(d) services auxiliary to insurance as referred to in subparagraph (d) of the definition of financial services, related with this numeral and provided solely to an insurance supplier.
2. For the Republic of Nicaragua, Article 12.05.1 applies to the cross-border supply of or trade in financial services as defined in subparagraph (c) of the definition of cross-border supply of financial services with respect to insurance services and insurance related services listed in paragraph 1.
Banking and Other Financial Services (Excluding Insurance)
3. For the Republic of Nicaragua, Article 12.05.1 applies with respect to:
(a) the provision and transfer of financial information as described in subparagraph (0) of the definition of financial service; and
(b) financial data processing as described in subparagraph (0) of the definition of financial service. (4)
The financial services described in subparagraphs (a) and (b) are subject to prior authorization from the relevant regulator, as required.
Section B. The Republic of China (Taiwan)
Insurance and Insurance-Related Services
1. For the Republic of China (Taiwan), Article 12.05.1 applies to the cross-border supply of or trade in financial services as defined in subparagraph (a) of the definition of cross-border supply of financial services with respect to:
(a) insurance of risk relating to:
(i) maritime shipping, commercial aviation, and space launching and freight (including satellites), with such insurance to cover any or all of the following: the goods being transported, the vehicle transporting the goods, and any liability arising therefrom, and
(ii) goods in international transit;
(b) reinsurance and retrocession;
(c) brokerage of insurance risks relating to subparagraphs (a)(i) and (a)(ii); and
(d) services auxiliary to insurance as referred to in subparagraph (d) of the definition of financial services, related with this numeral and provided solely to an insurance supplier.
2. For the Republic of China (Taiwan), Article 12.05.1 applies to the cross-border supply of or trade in financial services as defined in subparagraph (c) of the definition of cross-border supply of financial services with respect to insurance services and insurance related services listed in paragraph 1.
Insurance, Banking and Other Financial Services
3. For the Republic of China (Taiwan), Article 12.05.1 applies with respect to the provision and transfer of financial information and financial data processing and related software.
Annex 12.09.2. Specific Commitments
Section A. The Republic of Nicaragua
Expedited Availability of Insurance
1. The Republic of Nicaragua should endeavor to maintain existing opportunities or may wish to consider policies or procedures such as: not requiring product approval for insurance other than sold to individuals or compulsory insurance; allowing introduction of products unless those products are disapproved within a reasonable period of time; and not imposing limitations on the number or frequency of product introductions.
Insurance Branching
2. Notwithstanding the nonconforming measures of the Republic of Nicaragua in Annex Ill, Section B, referring to insurance market access, excluding any portion of those non-conforming measures referring to financial conglomerates and social services, no later than four years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement, the Republic of Nicaragua shall allow the Republic of China (Taiwan) insurance suppliers to establish in its territory through branches. The Republic of Nicaragua may choose how to regulate branches, including their characteristics, structure, relationship to their parent company, capital requirements, technical reserves, and obligations regarding risk capital and their investments.
Section B. The Republic of China (Taiwan)
Expedited Availability of Insurance
1. It is understood that the Republic of China (Taiwan) requires prior product approvals for the introduction of a new insurance product.
2. The Republic of China (Taiwan) should endeavor to maintain existing opportunities or may wish to consider policies or procedures such as: not requiring product approval for insurance other than sold to individuals or compulsory insurance; allowing introduction of products unless those products are disapproved within a reasonable period of time; and not imposing limitations on the number or frequency of product introductions.
Banking Services
3. Notwithstanding Annex III, at the entry into force of this Agreement, the Republic of China (Taiwan) establishes in the following paragraph further liberalization commitments.
4. The Republic of China (Taiwan) shall not require the Republic of Nicaragua's banks, in applying for approvals to establish branches, offshore banking branches and representative offices, to meet the requirements of bank rankings and prior business volume specified in the Regulations Governing Foreign Bank Branches and Representative Offices and the Implementation of Offshore Banking Act.
Cross-border Trade in Financial Services
5. In the event that the Republic of China (Taiwan) applies a better market access than the one applied in this Agreement in any cross-border trade in financial services to another country, this new access shall be granted to the Republic of Nicaragua in a period no greater than 60 days from the entry into force of this new market access level.
Annex 12.09.3. Additional Information Regarding Financial Services Measures
The Parties indicated below has provided the following descriptive and explanatory information regarding certain aspects of its financial services measures for purposes of transparency.
Section A. The Republic of Nicaragua
1. The Republic of Nicaragua reserves the right to deny an operating license to a financial institution or group (other than an insurance financial institution or group) in the event that the other Party has denied or cancelled an operating license to such financial institution or group.
2. To maintain a branch in the Republic of Nicaragua, a bank constituted and organized in a foreign country must:
(a) be legally authorized and allowed by its bylaws to operate in that foreign country and to establish branches in other foreign countries;
(b) prior to establishing such branch, present a certification issued by the supervising authority of the country in which the bank is constituted and organized, indicating that authority's concurrence that the bank may establish a branch in the Republic of Nicaragua; and
(c) assign the branch capital that meets minimum requirements; Such a branch must have its domicile in the Republic of Nicaragua.
3. To maintain a branch in the Republic of Nicaragua, a non-banking financial institution organized and constituted under the laws of a foreign country must:
(a) be legally authorized and allowed by its bylaws to operate in the country in which it is organized and constituted and to establish branches abroad;
(b) prior to establishing such branch, present a certification issued by the supervising authority of the country in which such institution is constituted and organized, indicating that authority's concurrence with the establishment of a branch in the Republic of Nicaragua by such institution;
(c) assign such branch capital meeting the minimum requirements; and (d) in the case of FONCITUR, the capital and all of the funds of the
FONCITUR must be invested in the Republic of Nicaragua, in projects registered with the Instituto NicaragGense de Turismo;
Such a branch must have its domicile in the Republic of Nicaragua.
4. For purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 3:
(a) non-banking financial institution means an institution that operates as a recipient of deposits from the public, as a stock exchange or institution related to a stock exchange; as Almacenes Generales de Depósitos con caracter financiero; as leasing entities; and as FONCITURs; and
(b) FONCITUR means Fondo de Capital de Inversión Turistica.
5. A representative office of a foreign bank may place funds in the Republic of Nicaragua in the form of loans and investments, and act as information centers for their clients, but is prohibited from accepting deposits from the public in the Republic of Nicaragua.
Section B. The Republic of China (Taiwan)
Financial regulations are updated on the website of Financial Supervisory Commission (http://Awww.fscey.gov.tw).
Annex 12.16.1. Committee on Financial Services
The authorities of each Party responsible for financial services are:
(a) in the case of the Republic of Nicaragua, the Ministerio de Fomento, Industria y Comercio, the Superintendencia de Bancos y otras Instituciones Financieras, and the Ministerio de Hacienda y Crédito Publico, for banking and other financial services and for insurance; and
(b) in the case of the Republic of China (Taiwan), the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Financial Supervisory Commission, for banking and other financial services and for insurance; or their successors.
Chapter 13. Telecommunications
Article 13.01. Scope and Coverage
1. This Chapter applies to:
(a) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to access to and use of public telecommunications services;
(b) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to obligations of suppliers of public telecommunications services;
(c) other measures relating to public telecommunications networks or services; and
(d) measures adopted or maintained by a Party relating to the supply of information services.
2. Except to ensure that enterprises operating broadcast stations and cable systems have continued access to and use of public telecommunications services, this Chapter does not apply to any measure adopted or maintained by a Party relating to broadcast or cable distribution of radio or television programming.
3. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to:
(a) require a Party or require a Party to compel any enterprise to establish, construct, acquire, lease, operate, or provide telecommunications networks or services where such networks or services are not offered to the public generally;
(b) require a Party to compel any enterprise exclusively engaged in the broadcast or cable distribution of radio or television programming to make available its broadcast or cable facilities as a public telecommunications network; or
(c) prevent a Party from prohibiting persons operating private networks (1) from using their networks to supply public telecommunications networks or services to third parties.
For greater certainty, nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to prevent the Republic of Nicaragua from applying a Most-Favored Treatment to other Central American countries, in the Central American Integration Framework.
Article 13.02. Access to and Use of Public Telecommunications Services
1. A Party shall ensure that enterprises of the other Party have access to and use of any public telecommunications service, including leased circuits, offered in its territory or across its borders, on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions, including as set out in paragraphs 2 through 6.
2. Each Party shall ensure that such enterprises are permitted to:
(a) purchase or lease, and attach terminal or other equipment that interfaces with a public telecommunications network;
(b) provide services to individual or multiple end-users over leased or owned circuits;
(c) connect owned or leased circuits with public telecommunications networks and services in the territory, or across the borders, of that Party or with circuits leased or owned by another person;
(d) perform switching, signaling, processing, and conversion functions; and
(e) use operating protocols of their choice.
3. A Party shall ensure that enterprises of the other Party may use public Telecommunications services for the movement of information in its territory or across its borders and for access to information contained in databases or otherwise stored in machine-readable form in the territory of the Parties.
4. Notwithstanding paragraph 3, a Party may take such measures as are necessary to:
(a) ensure the security and confidentiality of messages; or
(b) protect the privacy of non-public personal data of subscribers to public telecommunications services, subject to the requirement that such measures are not applied in a manner that would constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or disguised restriction on trade in services.
5. Each Party shall ensure that no condition is imposed on access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services, other than that necessary to:
(a) safeguard the public service responsibilities of suppliers of public telecommunications networks or services, in particular their ability to make their networks or services available to the public generally; or
(b) protect the technical integrity of public telecommunications networks or services.
6. Provided that conditions for access to and use of public telecommunications networks or services satisfy the criteria set out in paragraph 5, such conditions may include:
(a) a requirement to use specified technical interfaces, including interface protocols, for interconnection with such networks or services; and
(b) a licensing, permit, registration, or notification procedure which, if adopted or maintained, is transparent and provides for the processing of applications filed thereunder in accordance with the Party's national law or regulation.
Article 13.03. Obligations Relating to Suppliers of Public Telecommunications Services (2)
Interconnection
1. (a) A Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory provide, directly or indirectly, interconnection with the suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party.
(b) In carrying out subparagraph (a), each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory take reasonable steps to protect the confidentiality of commercially sensitive information of, or relating to, suppliers and end-users of public telecommunications services and only use such information for the purpose of providing those services.
(c) Each Party shall provide its telecommunications regulatory body the authority to require public telecommunications services suppliers to file their interconnection contracts. (3)
Resale
2 Each Party shall endeavour to ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services do not impose unreasonable or discriminatory conditions or limitations on the resale of those services.
Number Portability
3. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory provide number portability to the extent technically feasible, on a timely basis, and on reasonable terms and conditions. (4)
Dialing Parity
4. A Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services in its territory provide dialing parity to suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party, and afford suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party non-discriminatory access to telephone numbers and related services with no unreasonable dialing delays.
Article 13.04. Additional Obligations Relating to Major Suppliers of Public Telecommunications Services (5)
Treatment by Major Suppliers
1. A Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory accord suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party treatment no less favorable than such major suppliers accord to their subsidiaries, their affiliates, or non-affiliated service suppliers regarding:
(a) the availability, provisioning, rates, or quality of like public telecommunications services; and
(b) the availability of technical interfaces necessary for interconnection.
Competitive Safeguards
2. (a) Each Party shall maintain (6) appropriate measures for the purpose of preventing suppliers who, alone or together, are a major supplier in its territory from engaging in or continuing anti-competitive practices.
(b) The anti-competitive practices referred to in subparagraph (a) include in particular:
(i) engaging in anti-competitive cross-subsidization;
(ii) using information obtained from competitors with anti-competitive results; and
(iii) not making available, on a timely basis, to suppliers of public telecommunications services, technical information about essential facilities and commercially relevant information which are necessary for them to provide public telecommunications services.
Resale
3. A Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory:
(a) offer for resale, at reasonable rates (7), to suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party, public telecommunications services that such major suppliers provide at retail to end-users that are not suppliers of public telecommunications services; and
(b) do not impose unreasonable or discriminatory conditions or limitations on the resale of such services. (8)
Unbundling of Network Elements
4. (a) Each Party shall provide its telecommunications regulatory body the authority to require major suppliers in its territory to offer access to network elements on an unbundled basis on terms, conditions, and at cost-oriented rates that are reasonable, non-discriminatory, and transparent for the supply of public telecommunications services.
(b) Each Party may determine the network elements required to be made available in its territory, and the suppliers that may obtain such elements, in accordance with its law and regulations.
Interconnection
5. (a) General Terms and Conditions
A Party shall ensure that major suppliers in its territory provide interconnection for the facilities and equipment of suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party:
(i) at any technically feasible point in the major supplier’s network;
(ii) under non-discriminatory terms, conditions (including technical standards and specifications), and rates;
(iii) of a quality no less favorable than that provided by such major suppliers for their own like services, for like services of non-affiliated service suppliers, or for their subsidiaries or other affiliates;
(iv) in a timely fashion, on terms, conditions (including technical standards and specifications), and, cost-oriented rates that are transparent, reasonable, having regard to economic feasibility, and sufficiently unbundled so that the suppliers need not pay for network components or facilities that they do not require for the service to be provided; and
(v) on request, at points in addition to the network termination points offered to the majority of users, subject to charges that reflect the cost of construction of necessary additional facilities.
(b) Options for Interconnecting with Major Suppliers
A Party shall ensure that suppliers of public telecommunications services of the other Party may interconnect their facilities and equipment with those of major suppliers in its territory pursuant to at least one of the following options:
(i) a reference interconnection offer or another standard interconnection offer containing the rates, terms, and conditions that the major suppliers offer generally to suppliers of public telecommunications services; or
(ii) the terms and conditions of an interconnection agreement in force or through negotiation of a new interconnection agreement.