ISLAMABAD – The Competition Commission of Pakistan has approved Alipay(Hong Kong) Holding Limited’s acquisition of 45% shareholding inTelenorMicrofinance Bank Limited, paving the way for the world’s largest mobilepayment platform’s entry into Pakistan.

Founded in 2004 by Jack Ma, Alipay is a part of the Alibaba Group, aChinese multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail,Internet, AI and technology. Telenor Microfinance Bank is Pakistan’s firstscheduled microfinance bank and provides microfinance and related financialservices.

Since January 2018, The Competition Commission of Pakistan has approved 66mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures, in sectors including PowerGeneration, Automotive, Information Technology, Oil & Gas, and Food.

Some of the major transactions include the acquisition of Daraz.com byAlibaba Singapore Holding, the acquisition of OMV (Pakistan) ExplorationGMBH by Dragon Prime Hong Kong Limited, the Joint Venture between RiazBottlers Private Limited and Lotte Chilsung Beverages Co Limited, theacquisition of shareholding in Total PARCO Marketing Limited by Pak-ArabRefinery Limited, and the acquisition of Marshall Gas Private Limited’sLiquefied Petroleum Gas plant by Hascol Petroleum Limited.