Corporate corner: HBL wins licence to set up branch in China

Habib Bank Limited has become the first bank from Pakistan to receive a licence for setting up a branch in China. It is also the first South Asian bank to get the permission to start banking operations in Urumqi, the largest city in the province of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan along the traditional Silk Route. Urumqi is a growing commercial and trade centre and the regional hub for the Belt and Road Initiative in Central Asia. HBL Chairman Sultan Ali Allana said, “We are extremely proud to have been granted a licence to establish our branch operations in China. This is a moment of great happiness and a reflection of the bank’s regional and global standing. We are grateful to the banking and regulatory authorities of China and Pakistan for reposing confidence in HBL.”