Habib Bank Limited to open branch in Beijing in February

BEIJING: The Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Beijing branch is expected to commence its operation and offer a full range of products and services in February this year, an official of the branch said on Thursday.

Its head office will allocate to the Beijing Branch in a freely convertible currency equivalent to RMB 300 million, in which the foreign exchange working capital is no less than convertible currencies on a par with RMB 200 million, according to an approval released by the Beijing Office of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

"As HBL's management bank in China, Beijing branch will make full use of the capital city's advantages in geographical location, market resources and human resources, lay a solid foundation of strategic development for the head office and focus on state-owned enterprises and organizations in a bid to expand footprint in the country," the branch official told China Economic Net (CEN).

The Beijing branch will be HBL's second branch in China as it has already opened a branch in 2017 with RMB business license in the city of Urumqi, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Touching on the significance of the Beijing branch, the official said HBL has always attached great importance to the Chinese market and its overseas branches are in high coincidence with countries along the Belt and Road routes.

"Over the past few years, China has implemented many opening-up policies towards financial sector, and the transparency of its financial market has been continuously improved. As a beneficiary of those policies, I believe that the opening of HBL Beijing branch will set a good example for more foreign institutions to set up branches in Beijing," the official added.

Habib Bank is the first and only bank from Pakistan to offer end-to-end RMB intermediation in China. Beijing and Urumqi branches will bring benefits to HBL's business in China and serve the interests of Chinese companies working on projects in countries where HBL has a branch network.