Finance industry: KASB attracts first ever Chinese private sector investment

Asia International Finance Company Limited (AFIC), a leading Chinese business group, has invested US $40 million in KASB Finance Limited. AFIC is part of a business conglomerate, which holds significant interests in industrial concerns, minerals activities and financial services corporations amongst others in China and Asia.
KASB Finance is the holding company of the KASB group, which is a fully integrated financial services operation covering commercial banking, investment banking, Islamic banking, funds management and securities trading amongst its interests. Bank of America Merrill Lynch is a business partner with KASB Securities since 1993 and BlackRock, with assets under management of over $4 trillion, is a shareholder in the KASB Funds.
This investment by AFIC is part of the Company's long-term commitment to investing in Pakistan, and a first step in an envisaged long-term strategic relationship with the KASB Group, where the partners anticipate that Group companies will become significant financial players in Pakistan's ever increasing trade with China and Asia and the expected influx of further investments from China.
The investment represents the first entry by a private sector Chinese firm in the finance industry in Pakistan.
Commenting on this investment, Munir Saleem-Acting President KASB Bank said: "this investment shall prove to be a landmark deal in reinforcing Sino-Pak relations in the investment and finance sector and will further expand KASB Group's outreach in international financial and business markets."-PR