State Bank’s permission to Bank of China will enhance the relations between the two countries
Pakistan’s State Bank has allowed the Chinese government-owned Bank of China Limited (BoC) to start its banking business after BoC fulfilled all the significant regulatory and operational requirements.
According to a statement the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), Bank of China Limited has been granted permission as a scheduled bank with effect from September 18.
“In Pakistan, the BoC aims to provide specialised banking services to serve the financing needs of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) related projects by leveraging on its experience and global technology platform,” the SBP said.
The Bank of China will become second Chinese bank after Industrial and Commercial Bank of China to start operations in Pakistan.
Chinese Industrial and Commercial Bank has been operating in the country since 2011. The ICBC provides various services including corporate finance, investment banking, foreign deposits, project loans, and working capital loans.
Earlier this year, Habib Bank Limited (HBL) opened its banking operation in China, which is single Pakistani bank working in China.
Pakistan and China shares numerous bilateral mutual trade, where missing factor of native bank for Chinese investors has been made available.
Bank of China and Habib Bank Limited will pose solutions to the banking problems of the individuals and organizations. China is also Pakistan’s biggest trade partner.
The CPEC initiative is a mega network of roads, rail links, power plants and other infrastructure connecting western China’s restive Xinjiang province to the strategic southern port of Gwadar in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.
The Bank of China’s presence will not only strengthen bilateral relationship between Pakistan and China, but it will also represent growing confidence of international investors in the country’s banking sector and its stable economic outlook, the Pakistani central bank had said.
About Bank of China Limited
In terms of tier-1 capital and total assets, Bank of China is the 4th and 5th largest global bank. In addition, it is also listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The bank is also a subsidiary of China Central Huijin. The core business offered by the bank is commercial banking, including corporate banking, personal banking and financial markets services.
Internationally, the bank is operational across 50 countries. The footprints of 19 branches are positioned across the One Belt One Road initiative of China.