Pakistan’s Habib Bank is opening a branch in Uramqi in China, which is the largest city in Xinjiang province. The move is seen as a measure to give further impetus to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) projects. The bank will be the first South Asian bank to start operations in the Western Chinese part. The branch may become functional in August. Pakistan’s minister for commerce Engineer Khurram Dastgir Khan told a press conference that this would be the first Pakistan bank which would open its first branch in Chinese city of Uramqi. He pointed out that the establishment of a banking channel in China would greatly facilitate the flow of capital for the mega projects that the government is undertaking with the Chinese support. He said the asset requirement for any foreign bank to open its branch in China was $20 billion but the Chinese government gave special concession to Pakistan and the minimum asset requirement was reduced to $15billion.
