By Muhammad Luqman
Bank of China has formally launched its operations in Pakistan, with opening its first branch in the port city of Karachi.
“ It is “a great honour” for the bank to be launching in Pakistan; The Karachi branch is its first in South Asia,” Bank of China Chairman Chen Siqing said while speaking at the inaugural ceremony in the capital, Islamabad.
He said the bank would strengthen the “brotherly relations” between the two countries in the financial sector.
Siqing said China’s progressive and fast-paced economy was ready to enter an era of high-grade standards, and emphasised that the Bank of China could help Pakistan effectively reap the benefits of China’s economic prosperity.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa has welcomed the bank to Pakistan, saying that the increased diversity of foreign banks would increase the country’s economic resilience. He also expressed hopes that Pakistan would learn from the Bank of China’s expertise in the small and medium enterprises sector.
Addressing the ceremony, Acting Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan said Pakistan’s economy was “picking up quickly” and that the opening of the Bank of China “marked the confidence of the Chinese corporate sector in Pakistan’s economic situation.”
