BEIJING - The Bank of China, the third-largest bank on the Chinese mainland, announced Wednesday that it has gained approval from Taiwan's financial regulator to open a branch in Taipei.

The bank said in a statement that it has made full preparations for its Taipei branch, which will officially open in the near future.

The BOC's Taipei branch will mainly focus on bank deposits, loans, bill financing, commercial acceptance bills, credit letter issuing and bond investment, as well as corporate bond guarantees and issuance, according to the statement.

The bank's annual business report showed it earned 130.3 billion yuan ($20.7 billion) in post-tax profits in 2011, up 18.81 percent year on year.