Karachi: Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has become the first Pakistani bank to offer end-to-end RMB (Chinese Yuan) mediation in China, according to a news source. This also makes it one of the only three banks in the South Asia and MENA region to offer the said service.
HBL had received all the regulatory approvals last week after which it formally commenced with its RMB operations from its Urumqi branch. This RMB mediation capability allows it to provide clearing to HBL branches, affiliates, and subsidiaries. As per the bank’s officials, this puts HBL in a leading position in regional RMB trade, investment, and remittance flows and will strengthen its role in Pakistan – particularly with businesses related to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
According to reports, the HBL Urumqi branch has the unique privilege of being the only foreign bank in the Xinjiang province, and HBL has already applied to upgrade its Beijing Representative Office to a fully-functional branch. This application is expected to be approved within a time frame of 2-3 months; subject to the regulatory approvals by the Chinese authorities.
