Habib Bank Ltd (HBL), the largest bank in Pakistan, launched its branch at Urumqi High-tech Industrial Development Zone in Urumqi on March 20, marking the company’s first business branch in China.

Gao Feng, deputy mayor of Urumqi and secretary of the district Party committee, noted that the favorable investment environment – with low costs and many services – at the zone is an important reason why HBL chose to set up its first branch in China there.

“The new branch will help HBL expand its overseas markets and develop business scale. Thanks to President Xi Jinping’s visionary Belt and Road Initiative, the bank will play a part in boosting the development of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Silk Road Economic Belt,” Gao added.

The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the Silk Road Economic Belt is a planned network of roads, railways, and energy projects linking southwest Pakistan’s deepwater Gwadar Port with northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Li Xuewu, the deputy president of the People’s Bank of China in Urumqi, hopes that the Urumqi branch of the bank will provide diverse finance services for companies in the Xinjiang region and other parts of China. He encouraged the bank to strengthen its exchange and cooperation with local financial institutes.

HBL, a Karachi-based multinational bank, is the largest company in Pakistan in terms of assets, and has repeatedly ranked as the top Pakistani company in the Forbes Global 2000. As of 2016, the bank has a presence in over 25 countries spanning across four continents, including 1,500 branches in Pakistan and 55 branches worldwide, including Hong Kong, Nepal, and Kenya.

Urumqi government officials and leaders from HBL Pakistan jointly inaugurated the branch in Urumqi High-tech Industrial Development Zone. [Photo/uhdz.gov.cn]

Urumqi government officials and leaders from HBL Pakistan jointly cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of the HBL branch in Urumqi High-tech Industrial Development Zone. [Photo/uhdz.gov.cn]

Luo Jiaqi, deputy director of Xinjiang Banking Regulatory Commission, presents the financial license to Zhao Quncheng, president of Urumqi Habib Bank. [Photo/uhdz.gov.cn]

Edited by Tyler Terrance Oneil